Under the Surface
by savetoniqht
Summary: After three years of keeping her feelings a secret she and Elliot are finally together. She couldn’t be happier, until a new side of Elliot is revealed, and almost nobody is more shocked than Elliot himself. Keep an open mind while reading—it’s different
1. Chapter One

Note: If you don't have an open mind, don't come bashing me because it's different. This is **fiction**. Not to judge anyone, but I've seen so many people come in and bash people's stories because they put their favorite characters in bad positions. Relax, I love Elliot. It's just a story. **Fiction.** If you don't like it don't read it. Thank you. :)

(Not to sound harsh, I just know some people don't like this kind of thing and are nasty about it.) Please still be honest in your reviews though! If you hate it say so, just don't be nasty about it.

**Disclaimer:** Of course I don't own them. If I did, would I be here writing fiction?

Okay, so the title sucks, but all my creativity is gone after writing this.

-----

"I love you," Elliot whispered as he pulled Casey into a passionate kiss.

Casey couldn't believe she was finally in the arms of the detective she'd admired since her first day on the job. She knew she was falling head over heels for him the second her green eyes locked with his gorgeous baby-blue eyes.

For the first two years that they worked together Casey was sure that Elliot wanted nothing to do with her. They worked together on a professional level—maybe one could call them acquaintances—but that was all.

One evening Elliot just waltzed into her office and plopped down on her couch, smiling at her. Casey had looked up to meet his gaze with a puzzled look, and he asked her out right there. She felt as though she were on top of the world, and their relationship had been all that she had every imagined and more.

---

"Come ON, Casey! Look, we all know that it's this guy. We know it; you know it, why can't you get the damn warrant?" Elliot yelled, inching closer to the young ADA until he was practically yelling in her face.

"Elliot!" Olivia yelled, pulling Elliot away from Casey by the back of his shirt. Even if Elliot and Casey weren't a couple it was completely unprofessional, not to mention he was being a jerk.

"I'm sorry," Casey sighed once she had processed what had just happened. "Look I don't make the rules! You don't have enough evidence. Yeah, we think it's this guy, but that doesn't work in court. I think this bastard is guilty just as much as you do, but I can't get a warrant yet. I'm sorry,"

"Damn it, Casey! When this guy goes and kills again, this will be on **you**!" he shouted as he slammed his fist on the desk in front of him. Olivia and Casey both stared up at him in shock.

"I'm sorry," Casey whispered looking as if she were about to cry.

Olivia pulled Casey into a hug. Elliot was just as important to Olivia as Casey was, but she couldn't stand to let him talk to Casey like that.

"Don't be sorry, Casey," she began, shooting daggers at Elliot with her eyes. "It's not your fault. We'll go find you evidence."

"Baby, can I talk to you for a second?" Elliot asked, his eyes softening. Casey shrugged innocently and walked over to him as Olivia walked away.

"I'm so sorry, Case. I'm just really stressed out right now. I've never snapped on you like that. Can you forgive me?" he asked as he pulled her into an enormous hug.

Casey smiled; she couldn't help but forgive him, but of course she was going to make him work for it.

"Gee, I don't know, El," she smiled at him with mischief twinkling in her bright green eyes.

Elliot looked back at her with just as much mischief in his own eyes. He raised his hand as if he were going to tickle her.

"Don't make me…" he started.

"Okay, I forgive you!" she laughed before he could even touch her.

He pulled her into an even bigger hug and kissed her gently on her forehead until he made his way to her lips. She was still shocked by his attitude, but she couldn't believe her luck that she was finally with the man she had loved for years.

"Stabler and Novak!" Cragen demanded, pulling Casey out of her thoughts and both of them out of their kiss. They abruptly broke away as their captain approached them.

"You know the rules. Your personal lives are your personal lives, but keep it out of work. Got it? You know what happens if it becomes a problem," he threatened. Elliot and Casey both nodded like children being reprimanded by their parent.

Elliot squeezed his girlfriend's hand one more time as he walked over to his desk. Casey smiled as she watched him walk away.

"Hey," Olivia said, grabbing Casey's arm as she walked by.

"Hey," Casey replied with a huge grin on her face, which made Olivia start smiling too.

"You're really happy," Olivia observed. Casey just nodded back.

"You're not pissed off at him?" Olivia asked her, eyeing Casey suspiciously; if anyone had talked to her like that, she certainly would not have forgiven them in a heartbeat.

Casey shrugged. "He was a little harsh, but it's Elliot," Casey said as if that explained everything. "I love him. We're all stressed out," Casey explained, shrugging it off. He had never hut her before—he had barely ever yelled at her or spoken to her harshly, except over work.

---

"El?" Casey called out as she entered the apartment that they shared and flipped on the lights. It had been a long day, and all she wanted was to relax with her boyfriend. She smelled something cooking in the kitchen and decided to follow it, hoping to find Elliot there.

"Don't move any closer, Novak," she heard someone say as he reached out and grabbed her. Immediately her instinct was that someone was in her house and was there to hurt her. She screamed as she tried to pull away, sobbing.

"Casey! Casey, baby it's me, it's Elliot, what are you doing? What's wrong?" he asked in utter confusion. Casey stopped immediately as she looked up and realized she was face to face with Elliot, and she collapsed in his arms.

"You sounded different. I thought you were…" she began, but had no reason to finish. They both knew she was referring to the horrific night in her office when she was nearly beaten to death, but they also both knew that she hated to talk about it. Elliot just hugged her tighter as her voice trailed off.

"It's just me, Case. I won't hurt you. I was making dinner to surprise you, I thought you'd be later. It should be ready now though. You want to go change and I'll finish up?" he asked, brushing a stray piece of red hair out of Casey's face. She nodded as she stood up to change clothes, feeling ridiculous by her reaction even though Elliot had thought it was cute and had just shrugged it off.

---

The first hour or so of their dinner together was simple small talk, but as usual eventually it turned to work.

"Case, I'm really sorry about today. I shouldn't have yelled at you in front of everyone like that, I'm really sorry," Elliot apologized again.

"It's okay, El," Casey assured him as she grabbed his hand and smiled.

"You should have gotten it though. We had evidence," Elliot argued.

Casey stood up abruptly and turned away; she was sick of getting blamed for the fact that the detectives couldn't always get the evidence they needed to convict.

"Don't get mad, I was just saying," Elliot said as he stood up and turned her around so that she was facing him. She sighed—if she was going to keep working with the detectives she would need to get this out in the open.

"Elliot, listen. I love you, but not at work. Every time you guys don't find the evidence that you need, I get blamed. They're not my rules, but you always take it out on me. I try my best all the time, I really do, but some things just can't be argued. An instinct isn't good enough to put someone in jail for the rest of their life," she confessed.

Elliot sighed and paused for a moment, and Casey could only assume that he was waiting for her to speak. He had, in fact, been considering an apology when Casey continued.

"Besides, about this warrant, you are just as much as fault as I am, so stop blaming me!"

Before he even knew what was happening his hand was making contact with Casey's face. He stared in horror as she fell back. They both paused in shock; Casey didn't know any better than Elliot did what had just come over him. One minute they were having a romantic dinner, and the next thing he knew his girlfriend was on the ground and his hand was in the air.


	2. Chapter Two

Hey, so this definitely didn't get the reviews I had hoped for! Oh well, I'm not one to give up right away. And don't worry—even if you are the very last one reading this story, I'm not just going to stop writing it. Reviews would be appreciated though, even if you hate the story. Thanks to those who did. :)

---

"Wake up, beautiful," Casey heard as her eyes blinked open. The sun was streaming in the room and she fought the urge to remain sleeping as she sat up. She yawned and stretched, looking up into the deep blue eyes that were gazing at her lovingly.

"Hey there," he smiled as soon as she looked at him. She groaned in return and lay back down, burying her head under the covers. She heard him laugh as he lay down gently on top of her.

"Okay, okay, I'm getting up," she grunted. He rolled off her and pulled her up. She just glared at him—she was definitely not a morning person.

"You were cuter when you were sleeping," he told her. She just smirked back at him.

"I'm cuter than you'll ever be," she replied with a smile. He laughed as he left the room. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to follow him, but she wasn't planning on getting up for at least another ten minutes either way.

As he came back in he was carrying a tray complete with two pieces of whole wheat toast, a glass of water and a grapefruit. In the corner sat a small vase with a single rose—her favorite breakfast and her favorite flower. She smiled as Elliot sat down next to her and placed the tray on her lap.

"I'm so sorry about last night, Casey. I honestly don't know what came over me. You've known me for years, and you have never seen me hit anyone but a perp once or twice. I know I messed up. Damn, I know I screwed up, but I'm so sorry," he said. She smiled up at him. Of course it wasn't okay that he had hit her, but she knew he was right, and the guilt read all over his face.

"Baby, I'm so sorry. I love you so much, Casey. Please forgive me; I couldn't stand to lose you," he finished as he pulled himself closer to her small body and wrapped his arms around her, laying his head on her stomach. She smiled at him again, but remained silent, purposely torturing him. She sat patiently, waiting for him to look up again.

"Come on, baby," he said into her stomach. She laughed from the vibration of his voice on her flesh. "What?" he asked as he looked up; she knew that Elliot assumed that she was laughing at him. She shrugged innocently and smiled.

"You forgive me?" he asked again. She debated between torturing him more with the suspense and just telling him that she did, but then decided to spare him.

"I forgive you," she said with a smile; then her face instantly turned completely serious. "Oh, wait…" she said coolly.

"What?" he asked as he sat up with worry in his eyes. She resisted the temptation to laugh as she kept her face blank.

"Oh, hell no, Stabler. There's no ice in my water; you are so back on the hook," she said, crossing her arms in front of her and glaring at him. He laughed as lifted the tray off of her lap and placed it on his other side.

"Well now you lost it all, Novak," he smirked. She pouted at him as she reached back over him to reach the tray, but he just grabbed her arms and pulled her on top of him, stopping her with a kiss.

---

"Hey, Case, how was it?" Elliot asked, pecking her gently on the cheek as he walked to his desk. Casey's eyes darted nervously around the room, stopping at Olivia, who had been there for the trial. Olivia smiled, even though Casey knew that Olivia wasn't happy with her either.

"Casey? How was the trial?" he tried again. She sighed as her eyes met his.

"Not guilty, I'm sorry," she said, focusing only on Olivia. Casey knew that Elliot would be angry, and she didn't want to get in a fight with him. She heard him sigh noticeably, but she kept her eyes on Olivia, who was giving her strange looks.

"Casey, look at me," Elliot demanded. She slowly obeyed, forcing herself to look up at him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. She heard Olivia stand up and start walking over to her desk, but she kept her eyes on Elliot, who was staring straight back at her.

"Hey, it's okay, Casey. It's not your fault," Olivia reassured her as she placed her hand on the young ADA's shoulder and sat on Fin's desk next to where Casey was sitting. Casey's eyes never left Elliot, even when he looked down in disappointment.

She knew that Olivia was watching the entire exchange, but she didn't want her getting into it.

"Hey El, can I talk to you for a second?" Olivia asked him, sensing the tension in the room. Casey just watched as Elliot reluctantly followed Olivia out of the room.

---

"What is wrong with you?" Olivia demanded once she pulled him into the hallway.

"What are you talking about?" Elliot responded innocently.

"Elliot, she's your girlfriend!" Olivia insisted.

"What are you talking about?" Elliot asked.

"Elliot, you treat her worse than everyone else and she's _your_ girlfriend. If anything _you_ should be the one defending her from _us_," Olivia said. Elliot stood stunned.

"What do you mean? We both know she should have gotten a guilty verdict!" he argued.

"El, you weren't even at the trial. You should be supporting her. She tried her very best. She always does."

"Okay, okay, I'll go apologize. I'm sorry," he responded as he hugged her.

---

"So, how was your day?" Elliot asked once he and Casey had returned to their apartment. Casey shrugged and sat down on the couch, drawing her knees to her chest and flipping on the news. Elliot sat down next to her, and she moved further away.

"What the hell?" he asked her.

"She was right." Casey snapped.

"Excuse me?" he retorted, roughly reaching over her to grab the remote to switch off the TV.

"I was trying to watch that!" Casey insisted, trying to grab the remote from him. He grabbed her wrist and threw the remote on the floor next to him.

"What is wrong with you?" he demanded.

"You're hurting me," she whispered, refusing to look him in the eye. He increased his grip on her wrist, then grabbed her other one when she tried to use it to free herself from him.

"Tell me. Who was right?" he ordered again.

"Olivia," Casey whispered as tears formed in her eyes. "Please let go."

He ignored her and just gripped harder, ignoring the tears.

"You are not dragging her into this. She's my best friend. She's been my best friend for years now, and you are not going to turn her against me. I treat you fine and you know it," he yelled. Casey nodded in compliance, and he dropped her wrists.

"We talked about this last night," she reminded him, but then instantly regretted it, remembering what had happened then. He turned slowly to face her with a fierce look in his eyes. He leaned over her, pinning her much smaller body to the couch.

"Elliot, please," Casey pleaded desperately; the flicker of anger in his usually calm eyes showed her that she did not want to mess with him when he was like that.

"I swear to god, Casey, don't you dare ruin anything for me. I have worked there twice as long as you. If things are going to get screwed up there for one of us, you better know damn well it's not going to be me."

Casey nodded desperately in response with tears in her eyes, and he finally stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

-----

Okay, not a great chapter, but I'm trying to start out light… obviously these things don't just blow up and happen all at once, but I'm not going to make twenty chapters to explain how things get started. Please review, even if you don't have much to say so I at least know that people are reading it? Thank you. :)


	3. Chapter Three

Glad to see reviews. :) They really do mean a lot. Honestly, as long as I know that one person is reading I'll keep updating. I write anyway, it's just a matter of posting them or not, so as long as someone is reading I'll keep posting.

-----

When Casey awoke the next morning she yawned, feeling completely rested for the first time in a long while. As she opened her eyes, it took her a moment to take in her surroundings. She couldn't figure out why she was on the couch, and when her eyes fixated on the digital clock above the TV, her heart nearly stopped beating.

"SHIT!" she yelled, springing up and into her room to get dressed, already two hours late for work. She frantically prepared herself for work in the shortest amount of time she ever had as she sprinted out the door, nearly forgetting to shut it behind her.

As she finally made it outside she realized that Elliot had already left for work, leaving her to fend for herself. She hadn't needed her bike in so long since he drove her every morning. She debated running back upstairs to find her bike so that she could ride it to work, but then realized it would be quicker to just catch a cab.

Once she had successfully hailed a cab and was sitting in the back, the events of the previous night returned to her memory. In her rush that morning she had not stopped to think about _why_ this was happening to her that morning. Furthermore she did not stop to think about why Elliot had left without her. As she remembered she cautiously glanced down at her wrists, where her eyes were met with slight but noticeable bruising. She cursed under her breath as she pulled her sleeves further down over the bruises.

---

"Novak, how nice of you to join us," John smirked as she rushed into the room. Three other pairs of eyes looked up as she ran in, fuming.

"Elliot, may I speak to you for a moment please?" she asked impatiently. When Elliot just stood there staring at her, she sternly added, "now."

Elliot rolled his eyes as he followed his irritated girlfriend into the hall.

"What the hell?" she hissed once they were alone.

"What is your problem?" he asked in complete seriousness.

"Okay, if you _knew_ I was sleeping on the couch, Elliot, and there fore would not have heard the alarm clock, why would you not wake me up on your way out? Even if you were going to be an ass and not wake me up until you were leaving, not to mention leave me alone to find a way to get to work with no warning, you could have had the decency to wake me up! You could have even slapped me for god's sake, now _that _is a good excuse. Besides, you've seemed to enjoy that a lot lately," she said venomously.

That time she was expecting the hand that collided with her face. Of course there was no one around to witness it—he made sure of that.

"I told you, Casey, you're not interfering with my job at all. Not my job, and not my friends. This is my job and these are my friends, and you're not going to turn any of this against me. And don't you dare go complaining to Olivia about how I'm being 'mean' to you, because we had a long talk about you this morning," he fumed as he turned back into the room, leaving Casey stunned.

---

"Come in," Casey called when she heard a pounding knock on her door. Before she could even react to the person walking in she was pulled into an enormous hug in the arms of the man that she loved. She smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder; she wasn't sure what had been going on lately.

"Casey, baby, come sit with me. I owe you the biggest apology ever. I brought you roses, too. Here, come sit, please?" he begged. He set the flowers down on the corner of her meticulously organized desk, then dragged her over to the couch in the office and sat her down on his lap, pulling her back into his smothering hug.

"Stop it," she whined as she tried to climb off of his lap and out of his hug.

"No way, babe, I'm not letting you go," Elliot argued as he hugged her tighter to him.

"Elliot," she tried to protest even though her face was in his shoulder and he couldn't hear a word that he was saying.

"Stop it, El," she demanded once he finally loosened his grip.

"What is it, Case?" he asked when she pulled away and stood up, smoothing over her clothes and her hair.

"You're being weird. You've barely ever so much as yelled at me except at work, and lately you just keep losing your temper with me. Then I keep on forgiving you. And after this morning, El…"

He clasped his hands in hers as he pulled her closer.

"Hey, Case," he reached up and brushed a stray piece of hair out of her beautiful eyes and smiled. "I'm sorry, I really am. Babe, you know how abusive relationships are, and you know that is not what this is at all. Like you said, I've never lost my temper with you. I did once or twice in the past few days, but it's been really stressful. You can't actually be thinking that…" he started before noticing the look in her eyes. "Are you!?" he exclaimed.

Casey shrugged as she looked down at the floor in shame. He stood up to face her and pulled her into a gentle hug that made her remember why she loved him in the first place. As he pulled away he cupped her face in his hands and placed a single kiss on her forehead before letting his own forehead rest against hers.

"I love you," he whispered. At that moment she realized she was powerless to his charm.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

---

As Casey retreated from the bathroom in only a bra and a pair of unreasonably short shorts, Elliot was laying in bed covered in just his boxers. He smiled at her as he patted the spot on the bed next to him.

She teased him for a little bit, seductively walked at an unbearably slow pace until he was practically moaning, desperate for contact. She smiled as she jumped on top of him and attacked his waiting lips with her own. She felt his body tense under her as she worked her way all over his neck and chest. She paused momentarily in the middle of his chest as she readjusted her positioning; he may try to control her every move in life, but she had all the power now.

She laughed as he moaned under her, helpless as long as she kept up her current actions. The second she took a break to take a breath, however, he turned the tables on her as he flipped her over so that she was on her back with him resting on top of her. He began to tease her much the same way, kissing her all over. She laughed as his breath tickled her neck, but this just turned him on more.

Before long she felt Elliot roll off her and reach into the drawer of the bedside table. She wasn't sure where he was going with this until she saw him pull out a condom. She shook her head as she pulled the condom out of his hand and threw it on the floor.

"Not tonight, babe," she whispered as she climbed back on top of him.

"What are you talking about? Why did you do that?" he questioned, perching himself on his elbows, disregarding her futile attempts to keep him on his back—as much as she tried to control him, there was no arguing that she was just too small to stay there.

"I said not tonight. I don't want to right now. Just kiss me, you fool," she teased as she brought her lips back on his, only to be pushed away. She hit the floor with a crash, landing on top of the condom that she had discarded.

"What the hell!?" she demanded, not moving from her new spot on the floor.

"Why not? Why not tonight?" he challenged as he stood over her.

"I don't want to tonight, El, please," she answered, begging him to understand with her eyes.

"You're my girlfriend, come on, Casey. I want to," he argued.

"Oh, Elliot, don't even play this game with me. We _both_ work for Special Victims. I said no, end of story," she defended as she began to sit up, only to be pushed back down by a foot colliding with her rib cage.

"What are you doing!?" she cried as his foot collided with her delicate body once again.

"Don't pull this work crap on me, and don't speak to me like I'm stupid. I'm twice as smart as you'll ever be. I've worked at this job twice as long as you ever will. Don't tell me how to do things," he yelled, smashing his foot into her rib cage once again.

She winced as she managed to pull herself up off the floor, just praying to avoid any more blows to her already tender rib cage.

"Come on, Elliot, please. Don't do this. I just don't want to have sex right now, why can't you accept that?" she cried as he hit her just a little too hard right over her right eye.

"Shit," he hissed, repulsed by his own actions as she fell back unconsciously onto the bed; he couldn't figure out how she had passed out since he didn't recall hitting her hard at all, but there was no question that she was out cold.

---

For the second morning in a row Casey Novak arrived to work via a cab. This time, however, she was on time. She had tried to cover up her black eye with makeup, but realized it was simply a futile task and accepted that she'd just need to make up excuses. Of course Olivia was the first one she ran into, and of course Olivia was the most concerned.

"Casey!" Olivia exclaimed as Casey entered the precinct. As Fin heard Olivia gasp he looked up as well; the three of them were the only ones in the precinct at the time.

"Hey," Casey smiled back, acting oblivious to the giant bruise that had formed on her eye.

"Damn, girl, what happened?" Fin asked, wincing as he walked over to the young ADA to inspect her eye himself. She pulled back as he came closer and laughed.

"Oh god, you don't even want to know," she said through laughter. "You know I'm the biggest klutz in the world. Trust me, it's pathetic," she lied, laughing at herself.

Although Olivia and Fin looked as if they had their doubts, they seemed to accept the answer. If Casey had been dating anyone besides Elliot, both Olivia and Fin would have been all over her to catch her in that lie, but it was _Elliot_—how could he even be capable of that?


	4. Chapter Four

"Hey you," Olivia smiled as Elliot walked into the station. She waited for him to respond, but his eyes immediately fell on Casey, who instinctively protected her tender ribs with her arms. Olivia felt as if something was off, but she couldn't place it.

"Hi," Elliot responded, nodding back at her with a fake smile. Olivia glanced between the two of them, noting the tension.

"Hey, you see what happened to your girlfriend? Man that klutz really got herself that time," Fin joked, hoping it was the truth. Elliot laughed nervously as Casey just looked away.

'I… I have to go," she whispered as confidently as she could before she grabbed her stuff and left the room. Olivia could practically see Elliot become less tense as Casey ran out of the room. She knew something was up, however, so she ran after her.

"Casey, wait up!" she called as she caught sight of the red head briskly walking away. She ran to catch up to her.

"Hey, Liv," Casey smiled as brightly as she could.

"Case, is everything okay?" she asked her in concern.

"What do you mean?" Casey asked innocently.

"What do I mean? Babe, have you looked in a mirror?" Olivia asked her. Casey's expression immediately turned to pure shock as she stood in front of Olivia as if she had no idea what Olivia was talking about.

"You and Elliot just seem… I don't know, quiet? Tense? It was awkward in there," Olivia confessed. Casey sighed in response as she pulled down on her sleeves.

"It's nothing; we just got in a fight…" Casey began. Olivia gasped immediately as the words came out of Casey's mouth. Elliot could never do that... could he?

"No! Oh god no, Liv, not like that. How could _Elliot Stabler_ be capable of this? No way," Casey exclaimed. As Olivia considered the words she certainly agreed with them, but it still seemed like Casey was hiding something.

"Did you get in a fight with someone else? Is that what the black eye is from?" Olivia asked her.

"What? No, of course not! Olivia, you know me—since when do I get in fights? Who could _I_ ever beat in a fight?" Casey laughed. Olivia nodded, considering this, but still not convinced.

"So what happened?" she pried, hoping that if she pushed hard enough Casey would break.

"You're going to think I'm stupid," Casey muttered, staring at the floor.

"I will not, just tell me… unless it's funny, then I'll just laugh," she said with a smile. Casey finally looked up and met her glance.

"I slammed into a cabinet. I was getting something from below and when I stood up I forgot it was above me. It hurt like hell; I'm lucky I didn't hurt it worse," Casey explained. Olivia contemplated this for a little bit, then decided to accept it.

"You dork," she teased. Casey laughed as she started to pull Olivia into a hug. As soon as Olivia embraced her back, however, she flinched and pulled away with an almost inaudible yelp.

"Case?" Olivia asked again, concern rising immediately.

"Huh?" Casey asked as she started to walk away.

"Casey, wait! Are you okay?" Olivia asked, unsure of what was wrong. Casey nodded with what she hoped was a reassuring nod, then she made her way out of the precinct before Olivia could respond. Olivia sighed as she watched her leave.

---

"Thank god that's over; I've been so stressed out lately, I need to get home and sleep," Elliot sighed, sitting down next to Olivia.

Olivia raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really, is that what you call it?" she teased.

"Oh, trust me, that' is all it is," Elliot scowled. Olivia felt the bitterness in his words as they escaped his mouth.

"What do you mean? You and Casey are so happy…" she began, purposely hoping he'd say something to reassure her that everything was okay.

"She doesn't want to do anything with me, Liv. I tried to last night and she flipped out! She ended up sleeping on the couch," he explained.

"Is any of this related to Casey's black eye today, Elliot?" Olivia questioned, knowing that she was taking a huge risk by asking, but also knowing that she needed to know if someone was hurting Casey; As strong as Casey was, Olivia felt the need to protect her at all costs.

"Are you kidding me, Liv? You know me better than that. What bullshit has she been feeding you?" he asked in surprise. Olivia tried her best to believe him. She wanted to, but something was definitely up.

"Nothing, El. It comes with the line of work, you know that. It's always my first assumption," she explained as she shrugged her shoulders. Elliot nodded as if he understood, but Olivia felt something change.

"I have to go," he told her monotonously as he grabbed his coat and walked out. Olivia sighed as she watched him leave, just wishing things were easy.

---

"Casey?" Elliot called as he forced open the door. He found an empty apartment and sighed as he went to change out of his work clothes. He placed his gun and cell phone on the night stand next to his bed, and then climbed in. It was early, however, so eventually he rose and relocated to the couch. He grabbed a beer before sitting down, then chose to sit in the armchair instead; it was facing the TV, but more importantly it was facing the door.

---

It was 12:32AM when Casey cautiously made her way into the apartment. She stopped dead in her tracks as her bright green eyes immediately locked with the pair in front of her; the deep blue eyes that were usually so loving and serene were steaming with anger. She took a deep breath as she tried to convince herself that there was nothing wrong.

"It's really late, Casey," Elliot said coldly.

"Oh come on, El. Are you serious? How often do you stay out all night, or come home at the oddest hours of the morning? You've never cared before, why are you yelling at me now?" she asked, fear obvious in her eyes.

"You know this isn't about that," he replied, not moving from his current position.

"Baby, why are you so mad?" Casey asked, cautiously making her way to sit next to Elliot. She hoped that she could make him happier either by seducing him or agreeing to have sex with him.

"Do you want to go to bed?" she asked him as she gently sat down next to him and took his hand in hers. She smiled as she soothingly rubbed the back of his rough hand. She knew a grin was appearing on his face, but he tried his best to conceal it.

"I see that smile, you can't hide it from me," she teased as she moved closer to him. Elliot continued to sit in silence, keeping his grin to a minimum. Casey sighed in frustration, having thought that Elliot was not so angry anymore. All of a sudden, however, his hands flew out as grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to him as he began to tickle her.

"Elliot! Stop! Elliot, stop it!" she yelled through laughter as his fingers danced on her bare flesh. She finally managed to break away from his grip as she rolled over and off the couch.

"Oh, now you're in for it," he grinned evilly as she lay on the floor. Her eyes widened in fear as he leaned over and brought his hands down on her again.

"Wait! Wait, don't tickle me! How about we just got to bed instead?" she offered again. He stopped immediately and looked at her.

"Sleep bed, or sex bed?" he asked bluntly. She smiled as she seductively looked him.

"I think you know," she responded with a wink. He grinned as he leaned over and scooped her up off the floor and into his arms, then carried her into the bedroom.

---

"Novak?" she answered groggily. It was 2:00, and normally she would have been wide awake, but she and Elliot had fallen asleep soon after their events that night.

"Casey Novak, if you tell me that you were asleep before 2:00AM I think I will have a heart attack and drop dead right now from the shock," she heard Olivia's voice tease from the other end.

"Mmm, drop dead now," she responded, her eyes getting heavy again.

"Casey, I just wanted to make sure everything was okay after we talked today," Olivia said, and immediately Casey was awake.

"Oh, Olivia, anything I told you that you might have taken the wrong way, I didn't mean it," Casey explained as she sat up, then walked out to the living room couch so that she didn't wake Elliot up, whom she assumed was still asleep.

"Are you sure? It sounded like things aren't too great between you and Elliot right now," Olivia answered back. Casey paused for a moment.

"Olivia, come on, you know Elliot," Casey sighed.

"I just worry about you, Case," Olivia confessed.

Casey's eyes immediately widened in fear as she noticed her boyfriend standing in front of her with more anger in his eyes than she had ever seen.

"Liv, I have to go," she said as she turned off the phone.

"Hi, baby," she said with a terrified smile as she tried to appear strong and look into those deep blue eyes. Without hesitation he walked over and slapped her in the face. That she was expecting, but not what came next.

He immediately punched her in the face, slamming his fist into her already black eye as he violently pulled her off the couch by her arm. He gripped her arms with as much force as he could muster as she writhed in his grasp.

"Elliot, oh my god Elliot, please, that kills…" she begged as tears came to her eyes.

"What the hell did I tell you? **What did I say?**" he let go with one hand as he slapped her again across the face.

"I'm sorry, El… I didn't…" she tried to remain calm, but eventually the sobs forced themselves out. He threw her on the floor and she just curled up into a ball.

"What the hell did you tell her?" he demanded as he landed the first blow to her right shoulder with his foot.

"Elliot, I swear, I didn't say you did…" she began. She didn't have a chance to explain that she had defended him before she was stopped by a foot colliding with her already tender ribs, her abdomen, and then one to her leg just below her kneecap. She gasped in pain, still not understanding how this side of Elliot even existed.

"How…" she began, then cringed in pain since her chest was attacked with a sharp pain every time she took a breath. "How can you see what we see every day, and then come here and do this?" she asked with tears in her eyes. She regretted it before the words even came out of her mouth, but her thoughts soon subsided with one more kick to her head as her world turned black.

-----

Hey, sorry that's it… the creative juices aren't really flowing right now. :)

By the way, I noticed the pattern of this is kind of annoying. Like how the chapters are all starting out happy and then becoming bad at the end—don't give up faith yet, please? The next one will definitely be different. Please review. :) I love them.


	5. Chapter Five

All she saw was black. She felt herself waking up, but she could barely open her eyes. After several minutes of willing herself to move she managed to blink her eyes open. All she felt was the pain trembling through her body. She tried to sit up but fell back immediately, shocked with the amount of pain she was actually in.

"Hey, you're awake," she heard Elliot say, though she was not sure from where. Her head was still pounding and she couldn't really think straight, and at the same time she couldn't sit up to see where he was without reeling in pain anyway.

She flinched immediately as she felt the bed sag next to her, and nearly jumped a foot in the air when she felt a hand come toward her.

"What are you doing?" he asked her as he continued to try and wrap his arms around her, and she continued to flinch back.

"Don't touch me," she whispered as she felt tears well up in her eyes. She had an unbearable headache and she knew that she had been unconscious, but she was also fully aware of what had happened that night, and she knew that it wasn't going to immediately stop anytime soon.

"Baby…" Elliot tried as he made one last attempt to pull her into his arms, ignoring not only her numerous reactions to his prior attempts, but her request for him to stop as well.

"I said don't touch me!" she shrieked as she pulled away, gritting her teeth at the pain from her reaction. She rolled over as she tried to pull her legs up to her chest and curl into a ball, but the pain was intolerable. Elliot just sighed and continued to lie on his back next to her.

"We have to talk, Elliot," she finally admitted. He didn't say anything in response, so she just assumed that he was nodding along with her.

"I have to go to work," he said plainly.

"Shit, so do I…" Casey began, before realizing that with the amount of pain she was in she probably couldn't look much better. She felt Elliot tense up beside her.

"Baby, I am so sorry about last night. I lost my temper, I know, but Case you know I love you more than anything else in the world. You mean the world to me—I love you," Elliot said, before trying again to reach out and wrap her fragile body in his arms.

She finally let him, too exhausted and in too much pain to fight. As soon as she was back in his arms, however, she began to feel herself getting too comfortable. She was trying so hard not to give in to him; it took all of her strength not to forgive him right there and pretend nothing had happened. He certainly wasn't forgiven yet, but of course they could work things out…

---

"Where's Novak?" Fin asked as soon as Elliot walked into the precinct.

"Hey, Fin, nice to see you too. I'm doing great, how about you? Oh really? Well that's good." Elliot sarcastically snapped back.

"Damn, somebody didn't get laid last night," Fin joked back, taking advantage of the time they had without either Casey or Olivia around—clearly they didn't appreciate those jokes as much. Elliot just sighed in response and shrugged his shoulders.

"What's up?" Fin asked him, concern growing as Elliot was growing more and more distant.

"Something's up with her, I don't know. She's overreacting about everything lately, and she's just being obnoxious," he started. "You just work with her, try living with her."

"Technically you don't live together; you just spend every waking minute at one apartment," Fin quipped back. Elliot smirked back at him in response.

"Sorry, man, she's a chick, you know them. If you're really worried talk to Liv, she knows that stuff."

"Talk to me about what?" Olivia asked as she made her way into the precinct and threw her coat down on her desk. Elliot shrugged and went to go make coffee. Olivia glanced at Fin, hoping for an answer.

"Girl stuff," Fin answered with a grin.

"Oh, Elliot needs to talk about his girl stuff?" Olivia joked back. Fin rolled his eyes.

"I can still here you!" Elliot insisted from around the corner. Olivia innocently shrugged her shoulders at Fin, who was laughing at this point.

"Where's Casey?" Olivia asked as Elliot reappeared carrying two mugs of coffee and handing one of them to Olivia and keeping one for himself, since Fin already had some.

"Honestly, is that all anyone cares about lately? She doesn't even _work_ here anyway," he snapped. Olivia stared at him for a moment, utterly confused by the entire statement.

"First of all, what the hell is up with you? Second of all, what kind of statement is 'she doesn't work here'? Of course she works here. I mean her office is at the DA's office, btu she works here as much as any of us…" Olivia responded.

"I don't know, she's probably taking a sick day," Elliot mumbled as he turned and walked away, leaving Fin and Olivia more confused than before.

---

"Michael Novak?" a deep voice answered on the other line.

"Mike? Hey, it's Casey," she said as she sunk down onto the couch in her office. After nearly an hour of covering up every injury except for the black eye, she had finally managed to take down as many Advil as her body could handle before coming to work. She hadn't even bothered to try and cover up the black eye; she knew she couldn't, and it was there yesterday so it wouldn't be that noticeable that it was fresher.

"Case? What's up?" her brother asked from the other line.

"Oh, nothing, you?" she answered.

"Not much… look, not that it's a problem or anything, but is something wrong? Or are you just calling to say hi?"

"Well, I kind of have a small favor to ask…"

"What is it?"

"Would it bother you if I crashed at your place tonight? I swear I'd be silent, you wouldn't even have to talk to me; I'd be totally out of your way…" she begged her older brother. Although she was once again on her way to forgiving Elliot, she definitely didn't want to be home with him that night. She couldn't just go to her apartment because he had keys too, and if she had gone to Olivia's that would be the first place he would look and come barging into.

"Oh, Case… you know any other time I'd say yes, but I kind of have plans tonight… they're sort of big…"

"Silent, remember? I'll even sneak in a window, completely ignore you and make _no_ noise," she pleaded out of desperation.

"Sara and I are going to try to have a baby tonight, Case. You know, you'd have a niece or a nephew! We kind of have a whole night planned… Casey, I can't do anything with my baby sister in the next room!"

"Okay, okay, fine, I don't need details. And by the way I'm in my thirties, I'm clearly not your 'baby sister' anymore, so stop that. Will you do me one favor though? Just in case of an emergency?"

"Of course,"

"Leave a spare key outside your house? I swear I will only use it if I absolutely need to, and if I do I'll be so quiet you won't know I'm there and I'll leave before you even know I was. We'll never have to talk about it again, I'll even wear earplugs and a blindfold, but please…" she begged, desperately trying not to burst into tears right there.

"Casey, what is going on? What's wrong? Since when are you so scared that you need to come running home to your big brother? I mean it's fine, Case, of course I'll leave you a key, but why? Seriously, if I need to come kill someone for you I'll do it in a heartbeat!" he insisted; she could hear the panic in his voice. She hated to worry him, but if worst came to worst she wanted to have a backup plan besides Olivia's, for obvious reasons.

"It's nothing, Mike, but you'll have one?"

"I already told you, Casey, I'll have a spare key. Here, I'll go put it outside right now. I'll put it in… the mailbox? Does that work?"

"No, dumbass. That's not a hiding spot; put it under the doormat," she corrected him with a grin.

"Fine, done. Don't you dare hang up yet though, I know you're making up an excuse for this right this second. I want to know what's wrong. Someone is hurting you," he began his overprotective brother rant.

"Hey, it's fine. I'm having some… boyfriend troubles right now, but they'll pass. And don't you dare ask me to say anymore, because I know you're not kidding about that death threat." she assured him, though she wasn't sure if she was reassuring her brother more or herself.

"WHAT!? Casey Rose Novak, get the hell out of there right this very second or I will come and—"

"Mike! Stop it, it's under control, okay? I really have to go now. Don't you dare do anything stupid. I love you, we'll see each other soon, okay? Bye." She said as she placed the phone back on its base and sighed without even waiting for his response.

---

Olivia stood outside listening to Casey's desperate conversation with her brother. At the mention of Elliot and even the slightest notion that he was hurting Casey, Olivia had to use all of her strength to keep herself from sprinting into Casey's office right then. She waited until she heard Casey hang up before she took a deep breath and entered the office.

"Hey, Case," she greeted as she walked in. Casey smiled up at her with a wave before looking back down at the papers in front of her. Olivia gasped as she once again saw the bruise on Casey's face. To anyone else it would look the same as it had the day before, but Olivia was a detective, and she noticed the tiny details. She was sure Casey realized this too, since she hadn't really looked up at her too much.

"Casey, did you hurt your eye again?" she asked. She noticed Casey immediately tense up at the mention of her injury. Casey just shook her head, but Olivia knew better.

"It looks worse than yesterday, Case. It should be getting better, not worse. It looks like you got hit—" she began before she was immediately interrupted by a royally pissed off Casey Novak.

"Hit it. I hit it on the door, Liv," she replied coldly.

Olivia shook her head. "You said you hit it on the cabinet yesterday," she reminded her. Casey looked straight at her as if that was what she had said all along.

"I know, the cabinet door," she responded flatly. She was completely convincing, of course, but she was a lawyer and Olivia was smarter than that…

"Casey, can we—Olivia?" she heard Elliot ask from behind her as he came in. She saw as Casey panic immediately shot through Casey's pale green eyes. As Elliot walked towards them and sat down next to Casey, Casey flinched, nearly jumping straight into the air. Elliot, however, was completely oblivious as he just wrapped his arms around and pulled her close.

She saw the pained expression on Casey's face as Elliot pulled her body closer to his, and then she heard her hiss in pain as she tried to pull his hands off.

"Casey, is something wrong?" she finally asked her. Casey shook her head as Elliot released his grip a little bit and settled for allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around hers.

Olivia's first guess was that something was wrong with Casey's ribs since she had been desperately trying to release Elliot's hands from that area, while trying to hide it the whole time. She sighed as she watched the couple together. The two of them were so adorable and perfect together, it was as though his arms were made for her to fit in.

Olivia was already completely suspicious, but she refused to let go of that little bit of hope that she was overreacting once again; these were her two best friends, and she couldn't bear the thought that one of them was hurting the other…

-----

I know, I know. Not that great, pretty boring, but kind of important. I could add more, but then it would just be incredibly long. Please don't give up yet though! Obviously they're starting to realize it and do something about it now, I just can't really add more right now. Please review! Honestly I'll keep writing until absolutely no one reviews, even if it is only like two people, but it does make me happier when there are more. :)


	6. Chapter Six

As Casey sat bundled up on her couch watching some pointless late night TV she heard a pounding at the door. Fear immediately seized her body as she thanked herself for chaining the door shut. Then again, why would Elliot not just use his keys?

"Casey Novak, open this door up _right_ now," she heard a man demand from the other side of the door. The voice was muffled so she couldn't exactly hear whom the voice was coming from. She reluctantly stood up and turned off the TV as she made her way over to the door to peer through the peephole.

"Casey, open up this fucking door before I break it down!" she heard the voice demand again, but as she got closer she recognized it.

"Mike!" she exclaimed as she unchained the door and flung it open. She ran into her brother's arms, only to recoil in pain. He took one look at her and gasped. He stepped back to take a closer look at his little sister as his eyes traced every injury on her body.

Casey awkwardly shifted her weight on her feet; she hadn't been expecting anyone at her apartment that night, so she hadn't bothered to cover anything up, so when there was someone at the door she forgot all about it.

"Oh, Casey…" he sighed as he gently pulled her into another hug. He tenderly kissed the top of her head as he continued to hold her tight, before leading her into her apartment and closing the door behind them.

---

After Casey had abruptly left the office without a word to Elliot, he decided to visit her at her apartment to try and make amends for his behavior. He had stopped to get her roses and chocolates, and had been preparing what to say the whole way there.

As she arrived on Casey's floor he saw a man standing at her door and hid out of view of both the man and Casey. The man was tall and good-looking, which just made Elliot more jealous.

As Casey ran directly into the man's arms, Elliot began fuming with anger. He had to restrain himself form running over there and breaking her neck right that second. He watched as he kissed her and led her into her apartment. He was furious as he stormed out of the building, vowing to deal with his unfaithful girlfriend later.

---

"Casey, what the hell happened to you?" Mike asked once they had sat down on her couch and he had made them both coffee. Casey shrugged, unable to meet her brother in the eye.

"Come here, it's killing me to look at you. Who the hell did this? I'm going to kill him, Casey. I'm actually going to kill him," he insisted as he gently pulled her into another hug. She let herself go limp in her brother's arms as he protectively moved closer to her.

"Don't say that, then it's premeditated," she joked, unable to refrain from the law jokes in such a perfect moment.

"Shut up, dork," he teased as he continued to hold onto her. She smiled, feeling safe for the first time with her brother to protect her.

"It's the boyfriend, isn't it? I'll kill him, Casey, I really will," he insisted, and she didn't doubt for a second that he would.

"What are you doing?" she asked him as he pulled away from her and stood up, pulling the blanket off her shivering, aching body.

"I can't stand this anymore, let me see... he punched you in the eye, slapped you a couple of times. He kicked you on your legs, and I saw the bruise on your shoulder when your sleeve fell before. Oh, and don't even get me started on your ribs, Case. How could he do all this to you?" he exclaimed. She rolled her eyes at him as she grabbed the blanket to cover herself back up.

"Stop it," she demanded.

"I'm not letting you see him. We're breaking up with him and then getting you a restraining order. Now."

"Mike, 'we' are breaking up with him? Since when are you part of this relationship? It's not that simple. It was one fight and he's never touched me before…" she began, then received a threatening glare from her brother.

"I didn't say it was okay! All I said was I'm not breaking up with him yet. I'm not ready to give up, but that doesn't mean I forgive him and that doesn't mean I'm okay with it," she explained.

"I don't want you alone with him," he informed her. She shrugged.

"Well, I kind of work with him…" she explained.

"What!? Casey, this is by far the stupidest thing you've ever done! This guy is abusing you and the only way you're going to get away from him is if one of you changes jobs?" he exclaimed. She nodded miserably.

"It's not abuse _yet_. As of right now it's like... a fight _bordering_ on abuse, so don't freak out until we really need to. And anyway, that's the least of my problems. My best friend is not only his partner but his best friend as well, and he has worked there literally like twice as long as I have. If anyone is leaving it's just going to be me…" Casey began as tears began to come to her eyes. She tried her best to blink them away, but she couldn't bear the thought of losing her job.

"You're not stupid, Casey, so stop acting like it," Mike said flatly. Casey stared at him with her mouth wide open.

"Did you really just say that?" she practically yelled.

"Casey, 'it's not abuse, it's bordering on abuse'? Did _you_ really just say _that_?" he responded, mocking her question. "Come on, I know you're smarter than that," he challenged. She went to slap him across the face but he grabbed her wrist.

"Oh come on, Casey. You think you can slap your big brother and get away with it? I could break you in half with one finger. Don't test me, we grew up together," he threatened her, and she knew it was true.

"Oh my god, wait! Mike! What about your plans tonight!?" Casey gasped as soon as she remembered.

"Casey, shut up. You're way more important. Someone is hurting my baby sister, and there's no way in hell I'm letting that happen," he said.

"I told you to stop calling me that," she reminded him as she stood up.

"Shut up, you are my baby sister," he responded smugly, purposely provoking her.

She smirked in response. "Get out, I'll call you if I need you," she responded as she opened the door and led him out.

"Case…" he began. She knew he was going to tell her that he wouldn't leave her alone, but she didn't want to ruin his plans.

"Go home, make babies… ew. Pretend I never said that, just go home," she said as she slammed the door in her brother's face with a smile.

As she turned back into her apartment she realized that even though she didn't want to ruin her brother's plans, she didn't want to be alone either, so she finally decided to just call Olivia and ask her to come over.

---

As Casey hung up the phone after inviting Olivia over, she realized that she had to work on recovering all of her injuries now that she was having expected company. She was in the bathroom working on covering up the bruises on the exposed parts of her body when she heard the door slam open.

She knew that Olivia had keys, but she almost always knocked anyway. However she was the only one that Casey was expecting that night, so she stepped out of the bathroom to greet her. Instead of seeing Olivia, however, she was merely greeted with a fist in her face. She felt her lip split immediately and the blood trickle down her face as soon as the knuckles made contact. She stumbled backwards before pushing forward and trying to pass the furious man in front of her.

He grabbed both of her wrists as he slammed her up against the wall.

"El, come on, stop this…" she pleaded as she felt his alcohol-heavy breath against her face. "Oh my god, El, you're so drunk," she cried as she tried to wiggle out of his powerful grip.

She felt a knee collide with her stomach as she gasped for breath.

"Who the fuck was that man, Casey? You're cheating on me?" he accused her as he kneed her in the stomach again before slamming her wrists against the wall again. She tried to catch her breath to explain that it had just been her brother, but he had knocked the wind right out of her.

"Huh!?" he screamed right into her face. "Answer me, damnit! Who the hell was he? I'm not good enough for you?" he yelled as he slammed her harder against the wall. She whimpered and squeezed her eyes shut as he continued to land blows in any way that he could while keeping her pinned to the wall. She didn't pass out this time, although she certainly wished she just would.

As she was slammed against the wall, accepting the blows and just waiting for darkness to overcome, she heard the door burst open and a voice scream out. Her vision was getting fuzzy as grey dots began to appear and block out everything else. She finally felt her body being released as she collapsed to the ground. She couldn't figure out who was there or what had happened before she slipped into unconsciousness once again.

---

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING!?" Olivia screamed as she slammed the apartment door open. She had heard drunken voices from inside, but hadn't become worried until she heard banging and yelling mixed with cries of mercy.

"She's cheating on me," Elliot slurred as he released Casey's limp body, allowing it to crumple to the floor. Olivia stood in shock for a minute before rushing to the unconscious body sprawled on the floor.

"Elliot, what the hell did you do!?" she exclaimed as she gathered her friend in her arms. She could hardly stand to look the man she trusted with her life in the eyes. She whipped out her cell phone with one hand as she held the young ADA's body in her other arm.

She dialed 911 and gave them the address, then gently laid Casey on the couch as she went to collect a couple things for her. When she returned from gathering some spare clothes she found Elliot sitting gently in front of the body as he tenderly stroked her hair back and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Don't you dare touch her. Get away from her," she demanded as she walked over to where Elliot was sitting.

"I didn't mean to, Liv. She cheated on me," Elliot slurred again, clearly drunk out of his mind. If he hadn't been so drunk she would have kicked him out in a heartbeat. Instead Olivia just shook her head in disgust at him as they waited for the paramedics to arrive. She couldn't believe that her best friend for all these years was responsible for the horrific condition that her other best friend was in as she lay broken right in front of her.

-----

Please review:)


	7. Chapter Seven

"Shh, Casey, relax," she heard a voice soothe her as she felt a hand being gently placed on her shoulder. She continued to struggle to open her eyes, even with the unrecognized voice telling her to relax.

"Casey, Casey breathe, sweetie…" she heard again. She finally managed to slow her breathing down and blink her eyes open, and she found that the woman standing over was Olivia.

"Liv?" she whispered in confusion. Olivia nodded with a smile as she sat down next to Casey's broken body on the bed.

"Hey babe, how do you feel?" she asked. Casey tried to sit up but stopped immediately as pain shot through her aching body.

"Oh my god, what the hell happened? Why am I dying?" she asked, only half joking.

"Case…" Olivia began with a sigh as she moved closer to the young redhead. "Why didn't you tell me about what was going on?"

"What are you talking about?" Casey responded, trying her best to figure out what Olivia was saying to her.

"Do you remember what happened last night?" Olivia asked. Casey realized that she should know exactly what Olivia was saying, but she honestly had no idea.

"I remember… my brother was at my apartment," she shrugged. She watched Olivia's face as it looked like she had figured something out, but if she had she hadn't said anything.

"Why didn't you tell me about Elliot?" she asked as she moved closer to the young ADA. Casey gasped as the last night came flooding back to her.

"Oh my god… it was you… before I passed out…" she gasped through jagged breaths.

"Shh, Casey, I need you to calm down okay? You have a couple of broken ribs; we can't have you worrying like that, okay?" Olivia reassured her as she held Casey tight and soothingly stroked her hair back.

"It hurts," she sobbed as she finally collapsed into Olivia's arms and allowed herself to break down and just be held.

"I know, sweetie, we're going to get this all sorted out, okay?" she said as she continued to hold Casey close.

---

"Where the hell is Elliot Stabler?" Michael Novak demanded as he stormed into the precinct. Elliot stood up as he heard his name and found himself face to face with the most hate-filled eyes he's ever seen.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO HER?" Michael screamed as he punched Elliot directly in the face. Elliot only took one second to recover before he responded and punched the man back.

"WHAT DID _YOU_ DO TO HER?" he screamed back. The men were viciously trying to jump at each other when Munch and Fin ran over to split them up.

"What, does beating up on women make you feel better about yourself!?" Michael screamed as he shrugged Munch off of him and lunged at Elliot again. Elliot landed one more punch before Munch slapped a pair of handcuffs around Michael's wrists.

"You are under arrest for assaulting a police officer…" he began as he began pulling the fuming man away.

"You know what, I should sue you for assaulting my sister and beating her half to death, but she won't let me because she's too fucking SCARED of you!" Michael screamed. Munch and Fin stopped dead in their tracks and stood in shock.

"What!?" Elliot exclaimed in disgust as he walked away from the men.

---

"What the hell are you doing here?" Olivia snapped as Elliot cautiously made his way into Casey's hospital room. He was carrying flowers and chocolates, as he had become accustomed to doing after each of their fights.

"She's my girlfriend," he responded as he walked closer to Casey's bed.

"Like hell she is. Do you really think she's taking you back?" Olivia demanded as Elliot shrugged.

"How long as she been asleep?" he asked softly as his eyes laid on the bruised sleeping woman in front of him.

"For a while. She's really hurt, El. She's in a lot of pain," Olivia informed him with a glare she generally saved only for perps.

"I screwed up, Liv. I know I screwed up worse than I ever thought possible. I just realized the guy I thought she was cheating with was her brother," he explained ashamedly.

"Oh don't you even try and justify what you did," Olivia said harshly. Elliot nodded and looked at the floor dejectedly.

"I know, Liv. I know it's not okay, I'm not saying it's okay. I was so drunk I didn't even know what I was doing. I'm so sorry," he said as tears came to his eyes.

"Yeah, well I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," she replied as she looked down at the young woman in the bed next to her.

-----

Sorry it's so short, but I really need suggestions before I can continue! I know I can't just leave it like this, but I definitely need suggestions as to what should happen, especially with the job and stuff. Reviews too please:)


	8. Chapter Eight

I know it's not great to say the least… I've been having this huge writing block lately. Every time I'm like in school or in bed I think of stories and the words come so easily, but when I sit down to write nothing comes. Hopefully you guys won't completely lose faith in this yet?

Thank you so much to everyone's suggestions—I would have been completely lost without them!

-----

As Casey blinked her eyes open she felt a rough but warm hand caressing her cheek. She groaned in pain as the hand traced over each bruise on her delicate face. As she finally managed to look up to see who it was she flinched, nearly falling out of bed.

"Casey, shh… I'm not going to hurt you, baby, I love you," Elliot said to her as she closed her eyes again, praying that it would all just go away.

"Where's Liv?" Casey asked in a shaky voice. She tried to keep her voice level, but she was understandably traumatized from the night before. Elliot sighed as he continued his loving motions toward her. She tried her hardest to not give in to him, but he had that charming way about him.

"She went to get some rest for a little bit, Case," he informed her, but Casey wasn't sure whether or not to believe him. She doubted that Olivia would have knowingly left him alone with her, seeing as she was so protective.

"Hey Case, I…" she heard her brother begin then stop suddenly when he laid his eyes on her visitor. She felt Elliot stiffen immediately as he pulled his hand away from her.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Michael Novak demanded, shooting Elliot daggers with his eyes. Elliot merely stood up, already know he was in deep trouble and not looking for more.

"I was visiting my girlfriend," he responded calmly.

"Like hell she's your girlfriend. Get out of here before I call someone," he threatened. Elliot stood firmly for a moment before storming out of the room. Casey, who had closed her eyes and was once again trying to make herself disappear, heard her brother come to sit in the chair where Elliot had just been seated.

"Hey," he said to her. She kept her eyes squeezed shut. _Why the hell am I still not disappearing?_

"Casey, open your eyes. I can't talk to you with your eyes closed," Mike complained as he cautiously reached out to grasp her hand in his.

"Your hands are freezing, Case. Do you need more blankets?" he asked her in concern. She continued to ignore him.

"Casey, talk to me, damnit!" he insisted. She blinked one eye open then turned around.

"You're so damn stubborn. I would kill you if you weren't hurt already," he told her. She turned back around with her eyes open this time.

"Can I leave yet?" she asked him. He laughed as he scooted the chair closer to her bed.

"Don't laugh at me. I want to get out of here," she informed him with a slight pout.

"You can leave soon, Case, but you have to take it easy for a while. Why don't you come stay with me for a little bit?" he offered. She shook her head.

"No way. I'll be fine," she insisted.

"Casey, don't test me…" he began.

"She can stay with me," she heard Olivia say from the doorway.

"Guys, I'll be fine…" she tried again. Olivia came to sit next to Casey on the uncomfortable hospital bed.

"No, you're staying with me, end of story," she announced as she pulled Casey into a hug. Mike smiled, glad that his sister had some people to support her and take care of her.

"What's going to happen?" she asked timidly, almost sounding child-like with her frightened voice.

"Don't worry about that, hun," Olivia soothed as she lightly traced her fingers over the bruises on Casey's face.

"Stop doing that," Casey hissed and Olivia pulled back in shock.

"Sorry," she whispered. She hadn't meant to snap at Olivia, but it was beginning to annoy her that people kept on pointing out the injuries that she had.

"It's fine, Casey," Olivia assured her as she snuggled up closer to Casey.

"What is going to happen though?" she asked again.

"I'm not sure yet, Case, I'm really not sure…" Olivia confessed. Casey looked up to meet her brother's eyes as he sat smiling at the two of them. Through her pain she managed to smile back as she squeezed his hand tightly.

---

As Elliot walked into the precinct he felt as if each pair of eyes that fell on him was judging him, appalled at what he had done. They didn't know, however, that no one was more appalled than Elliot himself.

"Stabler, my office. _Now_." Cragen announced as soon as he saw Elliot. Elliot nodded as he followed Cragen into his office and took a seat.

"I know what happened, Elliot," Cragen informed him. Elliot stared down in shame, unable to even meet his captain's eyes.

"How could you do it, Elliot? To Casey? You know how much she means to us," Cragen stated even though he could see the guilt and remorse that Elliot felt.

"Am I fired?" he asked quietly. He couldn't imagine what he would do without his job. He knew he had to win Casey back, but his job was a part of him.

"Suspended without pay, pending the psychiatric evaluations and anger management you will be doing if you ever want your job back," he said. Elliot finally looked up to meet his captain's eyes.

"You mean… I'm not fired?" he asked in surprise.

"You're one of my best detectives, Elliot. I can't afford to lose you," Cragen explained. "Take some time off, and stay away from Novak," he instructed. Elliot smiled, unable to hide his excitement.

"Thank you, cap. I promise I'll do anything you want, just let me know," he responded as he stood to leave.

"Elliot," Cragen called. Elliot turned back around.

"You won't need your gun," he said softly, upset that he even had to ask. Elliot looked shocked at first, then shakily pulled it out of its holster and laid it on his captain' desk.

"You can't really think I'd do that, captain," he began as he turned to walk away. He heard a big sigh from behind him.

"I know, Elliot. I'll call you and let you know about the appointments. You can come back when you've made enough progress—but I mean what I said about staying away from Casey. You know that every single one of us will have your head if you touch her again," he threatened, and Elliot knew he was completely serious.

---

"Hey Case, you take my bed; I'll sleep on the couch," Olivia informed her as she jammed her keys into the lock in her apartment. Casey had finally been released with directions to take it easy. The pair had stopped by Casey's apartment to retrieve some of her belongings before continuing to Olivia's apartment.

"No way, you take your bed. _I'll_ sleep on the couch," she insisted.

"Casey, you have broken ribs, a concussion and more bruises than I can count. _You_ are taking my bed," she argued back as he dropped Casey's bag on her own bed.

"Liv, I can't do that…" she protested. Olivia turned around and stopped her just with her eyes.

"Come on. What do you want to eat?" Olivia asked her.

"I'm not hungry," Casey shrugged.

"Stop it—Italian? Chinese?" she asked.

"Whatever you want," Casey shrugged. Olivia sighed as she grabbed a take-out menu from her counter and ordered them some dinner.

"Will you tell me what's happening now?" Casey asked her once she had hung up the phone. She knew Olivia had gotten a call earlier. She pretended she hadn't heard, but Olivia was only around the corner.

"It doesn't matter, Case. Right now you worry about getting better, then we'll worry about that, okay?" Olivia said as she sat down on the couch next to Casey.

"No, tell me," Casey demanded. Olivia sighed, but Casey wouldn't give up and she was sure Olivia knew that.

"Suspended without pay. He's taking anger management and psych evaluations," she summarized. Casey nodded as she considered this.

"So if he's taking anger management…" she began, then stopped immediately, knowing Olivia wouldn't understand.

"Casey, I love Elliot, and I know you do too, but you can't put yourself back in that position. You can't get back together with him. If you feel like you can still be friends with him when we're all together that's fine, but no one is going to leave you alone with him," she said. Casey shrugged.

"I still love him though, Liv. I know what he did, and I know normally if a guy hurt me I'd leave him in a second, but this is different. He wasn't him when he hurt me. Elliot Stabler doesn't hurt people. I still love him," she confessed.

"I know, Casey, but you've seen this a million times. I'm not saying I don't love Elliot too; he's been one of my best friends for years, but that doesn't mean I forgive him for what he did to you. Same with everyone else. And Casey, every single one of us will be trying to take care of you to the point where you'll be pissed off, but we all just want to protect you," Olivia reminded her. "We don't want you to get hurt.

Casey nodded as she considered this idea for a little bit. "Is everyone mad at me?" she finally asked timidly. Olivia sat stunned for a moment before she answered.

"Casey, why on earth would anyone be mad at you?" she asked.

"I got Elliot in trouble," she answered dejectedly as she focused her attention to the loose thread on the couch.

"Oh Casey, no. Sweetie everyone wants to make sure you're okay. There's absolutely no reason why anyone would be angry with you. We're angry with Elliot for hurting you, but we're not angry with you. I promise," she explained as she pulled Casey's frail body into a gentle hug. Casey sighed as she let herself go limp against her friend's supportive body.

---

"Stabler!" Elliot barked as he answered his phone.

"El? It's Casey…" she said nervously.

"Casey?! Oh god, Casey, I thought you would never talk to me again. Casey, I missed you so much. I'm so sorry, baby, really I'm so—" he began.

"Stop it!" she insisted. She could hear the pain in his voice, and she knew that he had begun to cry. "Elliot, I am still angry with you…" she said.

"I know, I know. You should be. You should be, Case," he responded.

"Elliot, I still love you," she admitted. "I still want to have a relationship with you. Right now, El, we both know that things can't just go back to the way they were, but if you go to anger management and talk to someone, I want to make it work," she told him.

"Oh Casey, I'll do anything. I love you too," he said with a smile.

"Good, but I meant what I said Elliot. You need to prove to me that the anger management and therapy is working before I'll feel comfortable being alone with you again, and you have to understand and respect that," she repeated.

"I promise, Casey. I swear, I will never hurt you again…"


	9. Chapter Nine

Has anyone ever noticed that Casey says "my hands are tied" or some variation of that in basically every episode?

Guys by the way, I promise this writers block will go away eventually, but it's been pretty bad. Don't judge my writing by right now:) Hah. I love reviews by the way, so keep them coming? Suggestions are really helpful too… like I said, writers blocked.

-----

"Casey, are you sure you're ready to go back to work? You can barely walk," Olivia reminded her as she watched Casey gently trying to pull her coat over her still tender ribs.

"You exaggerate so much, Liv! I can walk fine. My job isn't like yours—I don't spend my time chasing after perps, I just put them away," she assured her with a smile. Olivia didn't look convinced.

"Did you take Advil?" she reminded her.

"Stop it, Olivia. I can take care of myself," Casey snapped as she took two Advil out of her briefcase and popped them in her mouth. Olivia smirked at her, but Casey ignored it and turned around.

"Are we ever going to talk about this?" Olivia asked her for the thousandth time. Casey gave her a look of pure annoyance before pulling open the door and walking out. Olivia sighed out of frustration and followed behind.

---

"Casey!" John exclaimed as he pulled her into a huge hug. Casey yelped in pain as Olivia pulled him back.

"Shit!" he exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, Case, I forgot," he said sheepishly.

"It's okay," she sighed as she brought her hand protectively over her sore ribs.

"How are you doing?" he asked her. She shrugged in response.

"Fine, I have to go to my office now though," she replied as she began to walked out, but was interrupted by Fin who was walking in.

"Novak!" he greeted her as he slapped her just a little too hard on the back. She stifled another yelp of pain as Fin realized what he had done.

"Shit! Sorry Case," he said, as Munch and Olivia started laughing. He looked around confusedly before Munch explained that he had just done the same thing, and then started laughing too. Casey just looked between them uncomfortably.

"I have to go now," she said as she walked out.

"How is she really?" John asked Olivia as they watched her leave.

"Moody, a little distant lately, but she seems okay I guess," she responded with a shrug. "She won't let me help her with anything, but that's nothing new. She talked about him the night I took her back to my place, but she's refused to talk about it since. Have any of you talked to Elliot?" she asked cautiously.

"I know that Cragen has and Huang has," Munch replied.

"He really has been going to anger management and talking to Huang. He actually wants to fix this. Has he spoken with Casey?" Fin added.

"Not that I know of, but I doubt she'd tell me," Olivia sighed as they went to sit down at their respective desks. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew her best friend, she knew how much she loved Elliot, and she knew how battered women typically handled these types of situations.

---

"Thank you so much for seeing me, Casey," Elliot said as she quietly slipped into the seat at the table across from him in the crowded restaurant. She smiled cautiously as she settled herself in. He handed her a small box that he had been gently cradling in his hands as he waited for her.

"What's this?" she gasped as she took it from him. As she did her hand brushed against his, and her insides instantly turned to mush. She wanted to be mad at him—she really did—but she was undoubtedly head over heels in love.

"Open it," he said with a smile that reminded her why she loved him in the first place. She slowly took off the cover to reveal a stunning strand of pearls. An enormous grin appeared on her face as she looked between the beautiful gift and the man that she loved, who was wearing a smile that mirrored her own.

She thanked him as she stood up and walked over to him, where she passionately laid a kiss on his awaiting lips. He pulled her into his lap as he pulled her closer to him without ever breaking contact. After a minute he reached across the table to where the box still sat as he wrapped the pearls gently around her neck, struggling with the clasp a bit before it settled in place.

"Careful," she whispered when he pulled her closer to him; she was still in pain, which was the only thing that reminded her why it was so important that they meet in a public place to begin with.

She gracefully stood up from his lap and returned to her seat across from him. He grabbed her hands in his as she fearfully looked into his breathtaking blue eyes.

"We should talk about this," she said quietly, and he nodded in response.

"Case, I have to say something that won't excuse what I did, but hear me out, okay?" he said gently. Deep down she knew that _she_ should be the one saying whatever the hell she wanted and _he_ should be listening, but he sounded sincere enough that she ignored that feeling for the time being.

"Baby, I know I've said this so many times before, but I am so sorry. You've known me for years, and you know this isn't who I am; this isn't me. I've hit perps, but you know I would never hit my girlfriend. I don't know what's going on, Case, but this isn't me.

"I've just been really stressed out lately. Work is getting to me, and my kids are a handful right now. I let Kathleen's DUI slide and now I'm just trying my best to make sure nothing happens. Dickie got in a fight in school and he was suspended. Everything is just crazy right now.

"I've just been so stressed, and I didn't mean to take it out on you. I shouldn't have been drinking when I knew what was at stake, especially not enough to get as drunk as I did. I don't know what came over me, Case, but it wasn't me. It's like I wasn't even there that night. I know it might take time, but I love you and I know that you love me. You know we belong together; you can't leave me, Casey. I won't take no for an answer," he finished before taking a deep breath. She sat silently, waiting for him to continue.

"You can talk now," he told her. She nodded slowly, considering everything he said.

"I know you're sorry, Elliot. I know you're stressed. I'm stressed too… it's been hectic lately; but Elliot, it wasn't just that one time. The only difference is that time you got caught," she said quietly, unable to look into his eyes. He tightened his grip on her hands, and she couldn't tell if it was out of love or out of anger, or a little bit of both.

"Casey, you know it wasn't just my fault. I thought you were cheating on me. How was I supposed to know you weren't cheating on me?" he said as a little annoyance appeared in his voice. She stared down at his hands as they covered hers.

"Look at me, I'm talking to you," he said a little more harshly than she would have liked as he squeezed her hands once again. She slowly brought her eyes up to meet his, which weren't quite as calm anymore, but they weren't _too_ angry.

"I know," she whispered before bringing her eyes back down, away from his. He released her hands as he stood up. She thought he was leaving before she felt someone kneel beside her. He grabbed her hands once again, willing her to look down at him.

"Casey, please take me back. You have to," he said. She nodded in agreement, half because she was powerless against his charm and half because she was afraid of what would happen if she refused.


	10. Chapter Ten

Here we go. :) Okay, confession time: I didn't proofread yet. :x If you read it before I do then you might be able to tell, sorry about that, but I wanted to get it up! Reviews make me smile and make me want to update faster. :)

-----

"Are you sure about this, Case? I don't want you to regret this after and blame me," Elliot said gently as he twirled a lock of red hair around his fingers. They had gone out for another romantic dinner after two weeks of secretly dating again. Elliot had been attending anger management and psychiatric evaluations consistently, and Casey was finally beginning to trust him again.

"I'm sure," she reassured him with a grin. In the time that they had spent together since Casey returned form the hospital, Elliot had been as sweet and charming as he had ever been. Olivia, Munch and Fin had all been constantly asking her if she was seeing him again, but they had both decided that it was best that they kept their relationship a secret for the time being.

Elliot rose up immediately and leaned forward, scooping her up gently and carrying her into the bedroom. She wrapped his arms around his neck as she nestled her head in the crook of his neck.

He softly placed her on the bed as he crawled in bed next to her. She smiled as she turned to face him, brushing her hair out of her face as he placed a kiss on her lips before trailing kisses down her neck and onto her collarbone as she giggled.

He tore off her jacket and sweater, leaving her with only her lacy camisole as she pulled his shirt over his head.

He rolled over so that he was on top of her, supporting his weight with his forearms so as not to crush her, his lips never leaving her skin. She flinched as he lowered himself closer to her and involuntarily pulled away.

"I thought you said you were ready," he said with a hint of annoyance in his voice. She sighed as she wiggled out from under him.

"I'm sorry, Elliot…" she said quietly as he turned over to move further away from her. Elliot sighed and continued to ignore her.

"Oh come on, Elliot, if I beat the crap out of you, you'd probably be pretty freaked by me too!" she snapped. As soon as she said it her hand flew to her mouth in regret. The second Casey saw the palm of his hand in front of her face she panicked as she jerked herself out of the bed. Hearing Elliot screaming her name from behind her she sprinted out of the apartment without even bothering to stop to retrieve her shoes or the rest of her clothes, regardless of the fact that it was snowing and freezing outside.

---

After standing in the freezing cold in only a tank top for a shirt and barefoot for a couple of minutes she finally hailed a cab. After debating for a while where to go she finally asked the driver to bring her to the precinct, unsure of where else to go. She didn't want to bother Olivia after Olivia had been taking care of her for so long, and she didn't want to bother her brother anymore either.

She finally wandered up to the precinct, shivering violently as she wrapped her arms around her freezing body. Her lips were visibly blue and she could barely feel her feet; she wouldn't be surprised if she had developed hypothermia, but she hadn't been thinking when she ran out of the apartment.

"What the… Casey? What happened? Why the hell are you walking around with no shoes or a coat!?" Munch exclaimed as he bolted up and grabbed his coat to wrap around her shaking body. He gently placed a hand on her back and led her over to his desk as he helped her settle in the chair. He stood in front of her rubbing her arms up and down in hopes of warming her.

"Casey, what's going on?" Fin asked as he came around the desk and draped his own coat over her legs and over her almost frostbitten feet. She had stopped shivering a little bit, but her teeth were still chattering. Munch had wandered off to get her some coffee to warm her up, along with a blanket, which he knew they had somewhere.

"Now will you tell us why you were walking around outside in just a tanktop, completely barefoot in the snow?" Fin asked again as he returned with a blanket and two steaming cups of coffee, one of which he handed to her. He added the blanket to the pile on her shoulders and waited for her to talk.

She had just opened her mouth to speak for the first time since she had arrived when Elliot rushed into the precinct. Sensing Casey's discomfort Munch rested his hands on her shoulders in support as he continued to run his hands down her arms. Fin instantly stood in front of Casey as Elliot approached.

"Casey, I really need to talk to you," he said as he tried to get Fin out of the way. She shrunk back, determined not to give in; she couldn't say a word.

"Didn't Cragen tell you to stay away from her? Fin reminded him sternly. Elliot rolled his eyes at him.

"Can we just talk in private, please?" he asked again. She stood reluctantly as he held out a plastic bag to her, which contained her shoes and her coat. She took her shoes out of the bag and slipped them on, then put her own coat. She handed the coats back to Munch and wrapped the blanket back around herself. Munch and Fin both glared at Elliot as they realized why she was so shaken up and was walking around in almost no clothing.

Although they knew that neither of them was ready to completely cut Elliot out of their lives, they were all extremely protective of the youngest member of their squad and couldn't stand to let anyone hurt her. They wanted to follow behind to ensure her safety, but they knew that she would never trust them again if she realized they were listening.

As she stood to follow Elliot, Fin gently placed a hand on her back. "You call us if you need anything," he whispered as she walked by, and she smiled meekly in response.

---

As soon as Elliot had pulled her around the corner he embraced her and placed a soft kiss on her lips, which were slowly fading back to their normal pinkish color. She shrugged away immediately, refusing to return the gesture.

"You can't just come back and think you control me," she snapped, leaving Elliot completely shocked; she had never spoken to him like that, and he knew that she never would have if Munch and Fin hadn't been directly around the corner.

Before he could stop himself he found his hands grabbing her forearms and pinning her against the wall.

"Fin!" she yelled with fear resounding in her voice and through her eyes. No sooner had the words left her mouth than both Fin and Munch sprinted in their direction. Elliot cursed under his breath as he stepped back, causing her to nearly lose her balance as his weight was no longer on her.

Munch ran over to her as Fin ran over to Elliot and forcefully pulled him away from his soon-to-be ex-girlfriend.

"You sure as hell better believe we're over, Elliot." Casey snapped as she spun around and stormed away from him, leaving him shocked at not only her reaction, but mostly at himself.


	11. Chapter Eleven

Note: So the whole Elliot situation thing may not be completely accurate. I am not in any way a doctor, and I do not know that much about Bipolar Disorder… I know basically as much as an average person would. So, if the facts are complete bull, feel free to tell me, but I already know that it may not be… just go with it.

I really do love reviews. :) Oh yeah, I'm going away on Saturday, so hopefully I will update all of my stories on Friday night, and I will definitely have new chapters when I get back the following week.

-----

Casey squeezed her eyes shut tight and let out a huge breath as she leaned against the wall outside her boss' office. She stood there and counted to twenty, convincing herself to go in after that. Before she even reached twenty, however, a booming voice interrupted her.

"Casey, are you going to come in or just lean against my window?" Branch called from inside. She sighed as she turned around and realized she was leaning right in front of the window, and of course she was the only ADA with bright red hair.

"I'm sorry, sir… are you busy?" Casey asked softly as she entered his office and took a seat in front of his desk. He shook his head, but had a completely confused look on his face.

"What's going on?" he finally asked.

"I want to transfer," she said as strongly as she could. He looked at her blankly.

"You want a what?"

"A transfer, sir." Casey responded. He continued staring at her, just making her even more uncomfortable.

"Why on earth would you want that? You're doing great in SVU," he insisted. She smiled weakly at the compliment.

"Can I please?" she asked again.

"Why do you want to transfer, Casey?" he asked again. She shrugged.

"Please, at least consider it." Casey said as she stood up and walked out of the room.

---

Olivia sighed as she approached Casey's office, only to find that it was empty. Munch and Fin had told her what had happened the night before, and she couldn't figure out why neither Casey nor Elliot had called her. Elliot had an appointment that day and he hadn't been into work yet.

"Liv?" she heard a quiet voice ask from behind her. She whisked around to face Casey, who looked like she'd been crying.

"What's wrong, baby?" she asked as she reached out to pull Casey in a hug. Casey shrugged away from Olivia.

"What? Nothing is wrong…" Casey defended. Olivia just nodded and kept the space between them.

"I heard what happened," she informed her. Casey just nodded and pushed past her into her office.

"You didn't tell me," she continued. Casey shrugged and kept her back to her.

"Talk to me, Casey!" she demanded as she grabbed her shoulders and spun her around so she was facing her with tears welling in her eyes.

"Hey, talk to me," Olivia soothed as she gently wiped away Casey's tears. Casey shook her head and pulled away again, but Olivia grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"Elliot is your best friend," she whispered, so quietly that Olivia could barely hear her.

"And so are you," she reminded Casey, who stared at her blankly with a doubtful expression. "Casey, just because Elliot has been one of my best friends for years doesn't mean that you aren't." Olivia insisted for what felt like the hundredth time.

"I don't want to talk about this, Liv." Casey whispered as she pulled away and returned to her desk as she aimlessly sifted through her piles of paperwork. Olivia tried countless more times to make her talk, but she eventually realized the hopelessness of the situation and just walked out.

---

"Mr. Branch?" Captain Cragen asked as he responded to the knock on the door.

"Cragen," Arthur Branch nodded as she followed the captain into his office and took a seat.

"I wanted to talk to you about Casey. She came in asking for a transfer today. Now she's been working in SVU with no problems for quite some time now… is everything going okay?"

"Casey asked for a transfer?" Cragen asked in shock. Branch just nodded.

"She had an altercation with Detective Stabler, but that was a quite a while ago. I don't know what's going on, but you can't transfer her, sir. She's an important member of our squad; we can't afford to lose her." Cragen explained.

"Do you want to meet with her, or shall I? Or perhaps both of us?" Branch asked.

"Let me talk to her. Thank you," Cragen said as he led Arthur Branch out of his office. Olivia looked up in confusion as she noticed Casey's boss walking out, since there was no reason that Arthur Branch would be there unless it involved Casey.

"What's going on?" she asked Cragen quietly as he approached her desk. Cragen shrugged, but watched Branch leave in disbelief.

"Novak wants a transfer…"

---

"How are you doing today, Elliot?" Huang asked him as he sunk down on the couch in the doctor's office. He shrugged and sighed deeply.

"Elliot, I want to run something by you, okay?" Huang asked him. Elliot nodded in annoyance and didn't say a word.

"Do you know what Bipolar Disorder is?" he asked him. Elliot nodded and rolled his eyes. "I want to try starting you on some meds. I want to do some more to confirm it, but from what I have gathered, it seems as though you may be Bipolar." Doctor Huang explained.

"How do you know?' Elliot asked.

"Unfortunately there aren't medical tests to diagnose it, but I would need to look into your medical and family history, and then you would need a physical exam to rule out any other possibilities. I don't think this is your nature, Elliot. As soon as we know for sure we can start you on medication. You should continue to see a psychiatrist, but things should get a lot easier for you."

"So it wasn't my fault… I knew it." Elliot said. Huang shrugged.

"Elliot, what you did was still just as wrong, this just explains why you did it." Huang argued. Elliot rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, doctor. Let me know for sure when you know," Elliot said as he stood up and raced out of the office to find Casey.

---

Another tear rolled down her pale cheeks as she pulled the throw pillow closer to her body. She couldn't believe that she had broken it off with Elliot. She kept on trying to convince herself that she hated Elliot and that she needed to do what she did, but for some reason she couldn't just forget about him and let it go.

"Shit," she exclaimed as her thoughts were interrupted by an insistent knocking on the other side of her office door. She hurriedly wiped her tears as she threw the pillow back down on the couch. She rushed to make herself presentable before she cautiously made her way to the door to let the visitor in.

She had just opened the door when Elliot barged in. She immediately froze in her place as her blood ran cold through her veins. She tried to turn to face him, but she was paralyzed with a fear she didn't even realize she had for him.

"Casey, I just talked to Huang…" Elliot exclaimed as he walked toward her. She jumped as he approached and shook her head.

"Why are you here?" she asked quietly, regardless of the fact that she tried to keep her voice steady and strong.

"Casey, Huang said that I'm bipolar. Do you know what that means? He can give me meds and I'll be me again… I wasn't me when I hurt you, Case, we can get back together!" he exclaimed. Casey stared at him in disbelief.

"Elliot, that's _serious_; how are you excited about being Bipolar? And who said that _you_ get to decide that we get together?" Casey insisted. Elliot stopped dead in his tracks and stared at her.

"Casey, it wasn't my fault." Elliot insisted again. She shook her head and walked back over to her door to direct him out.

"I'm sorry, Elliot." Casey said softly as she led him out of her office.

-----

Okay, sorry for sucking… I really wanted to get an update up. Please review. :)

Sorry for being terrible at proofreading lately… I know it's really annoying, but I will when I have more time.


	12. Chapter Twelve

"Casey, can I see you in my office please?" Cragen asked as soon as Casey strode into the precinct. She gave him a reluctant, almost pleading look, but then obeyed. He frowned at her discomfort, upset by the fact that she could ever feel that way around the precinct and around her friends. He shut the door behind her as she slowly walked in and took a seat facing his desk. He watched as she nervously crossed and uncrossed her legs, all the while nervously picking at her cuticles. Her nervousness almost made him nervous.

"Casey, your boss came to see me today," Cragen began. "He said you wanted to be transferred out of SVU." Casey just sighed and shrugged, slowly looking up to meet his gaze. He had never seen the lawyer so nervous, and he certainly had never seen her at a loss for words. He waited for her to speak, but a stale silence just lingered in the air.

"Is this because of Elliot?" He asked cautiously, and the way that her eyes immediately shot up when he mentioned Elliot's name gave him his answer. He knew, of course, that this would cause an incredibly awkward situation, but that did not mean it would be any easier to deal with.

She sighed deeply before quietly speaking. "I think it would be best for everyone."

Don sighed deeply, not wanting to lose either his ADA nor one of his best detectives. He knew that the only thing that would truly fix the situation would be if it had never happened in the first place. "I don't agree, and neither does anyone else; we can work this out, but Branch is not transferring you, Casey," Don stated sternly, ignoring the hurt look that crossed her face.

"I don't want to quit, but I just can't work here. Even if he doesn't—which he is, of course—I just can't."

Don sighed and stared into her eyes. He could see how confused and hurt she was from the hollow look on her face. He hated Elliot for taking the sparkle out of the young attorney's eyes, but at the same time Elliot was family and he couldn't simply turn him away. He knew that all of his other detectives were split between protecting Casey, the youngest member of their squad and the one they were always protective of, and Elliot, who had been working with them for years and was one of the people that held the squad together.

"Take a few days off if you need, but Branch is not going to transfer you," Don told her firmly. "You could always talk to Huang too, you know… no one else would even have to know." He stood to lead her out the door, not waiting for a response. She kept her face blank, but he knew that she was hurting as she slowly trudged out of his office, shutting the door slowly behind her.

---

"Hey," Olivia said softly to Casey as she watched her leave the captain's office. He shot her a look over Casey's head, pleading for his help, as he led her out. As soon as Don couldn't see Casey's face anymore, the way it fell as she closed her eyes and brought her hands over her face broke Olivia's heart. "Casey?" Olivia asked again when the attorney made no indication that she had heard her. As soon as Casey heard Olivia, though, her head snapped up and a forced smile appeared on her face as she waved.

"How are you?" Olivia asked, to which Casey just shrugged in response. "Hey, let's go get something to eat, okay?" she tried again.

"I'm not hungry, I'm just going to go back to work," Casey responded.

Olivia sighed, realizing nothing was going to get through to Casey besides tough love. "First of all, you need to eat no matter how upset you are, and second of all, you can't just drown yourself in work, sweetie." Casey just rolled her eyes.

" Fine, tonight after work let's go out and get drunk… better?" Olivia asked sarcastically when Casey still didn't respond. She watched exasperatedly as a small smile appeared on the redhead's face.

"Now that I'll do."

Olivia rolled her eyes and smiled as the attorney strolled out of the precinct.

---

Elliot sighed in distress after listening to Casey's voicemail once again. He was sure she was screening her calls, but that didn't stop him from trying; he couldn't stop thinking about her.

"Elliot?" Huang called from inside his office. Elliot reluctantly stood up and trudged into the psychiatrist's office, dragging his feet the whole way in. He sat down and nodded to the doctor, who nodded back.

"How have you been?" George asked. Elliot simply rolled his eyes and curtly responded.

"I've had nothing but free time to sit here and think about Casey and how much I miss her and how sorry I am."

George smiled. "I'd ask how that makes you feel, but I think I got it." Elliot just smirked in response.

"Well, I actually wanted to start you on some medication that I think may be very beneficial for you," George began. "And I also think it may be good if Casey came to join us for a session, though it would be up to you and Casey of course."

Elliot smiled and instantly sat up straighter. "So I'll be better?"

George shook his head. "Elliot, that's not how things work, and I know that you know that. You should feel the medication helping, making things easier, but it's not going to fix things for you. That's up to you, Elliot, and you're going to have to continue seeing me every couple of weeks to check up on the meds, and I'd highly suggest that you see a psychologist regularly.

Elliot sighed and nodded. "And what about Casey?"

"Well, Elliot, to be honest, she seems pretty shaken up. You'll need to regain her trust before she'll feel safe in any type of relationship with you. You'll need to give her time no matter what—don't rush into it. No matter what type of relationship you want to pursue, you're going to have to regain her trust."

"If you want her to come in for a session then you have to call," Elliot informed him. "She won't answer if I do."

George nodded. "I'll give her a call."

---

"Shit!" Casey exclaimed as she slammed her phone down and cradled her head in her hands.

"You okay, Case?" a voice interrupted from the doorway. Casey immediately looked up to find Olivia staring at her. She graoned as she stood to gather her things so that they could leave.

"I just got a message from Huang," Casey admitted. "He said he wants to meet with Elliot and me together."

"You know you can't avoid him forever, Case," Olivia said. "He's going to come back to work eventually."

Casey rolled her eyes. "Why do you always have to say the truth? Can't you ever just say what I want to hear?" she said with a scowl. Olivia laughed and shook her head.

"Nope, I'm here to say what you don't want to hear but need to."

Casey smirked. "The problem is that I _want_ to see him, but I don't trust myself to not take him back," she admitted quietly. Olivia smiled as she walked over and wrapped her arms around Casey.

"You realize that's the first time you've actually talked to me?" she teased as she pulled away.

"And now you know why, Liv," Casey quipped, "because that was such great advice."

"I'm sorry, Case. Seriously though, it may be good for you. You've been pretty down lately, I can tell you're not sleeping, you're losing weight because you're not eating enough—by the way we _are_ eating before we go get wasted—so maybe it would be a good thing. Huang will be there too, of course, so you don't have to worry," Olivia assured her.

"I miss him," Casey whispered as she turned off the lights in her office and shut the door behind them.

"I know," Olivia whispered back with a sad smile.

---

"Casey," Elliot said with a smile as she approached him in the waiting room outside George's office.

"Elliot," she responded nervously but warmly as she smiled and slowly sat down next to him.

"I've missed you," he finally said.

"I've missed you too." She finally allowed herself to look up and meet Elliot's glance. She practically felt her insides melt as his deep blue eyes locked with her own

"I'm really glad you came," he said again, to which she nodded.

"Elliot, Casey, please come in," George called as he stuck his head out the door, interrupting the awkward silence that had taken over the waiting room.

George smiled at Casey as she slowly sat down on the couch beside Elliot. "Thank you for coming today, Casey."

She nodded back politely, but she didn't trust herself to speak. She kept her eyes glued to the wall directly over George's head.

"Well, Elliot told me that you two haven't really been communicating lately, but he did say that he informed you about his disorder." Casey nodded again, though she kept her eyes intently focused on the wall.

"Do you understand what it is?" George continued. She nodded again, but George went on to explain it anyway, ignoring the fact that Casey was obviously and visibly tuning him out.

"Casey, please talk… you have no idea how hard this is for me," Elliot said gently as he cautiously took her small hand and held it between his. "I still love you, and I really want to work this out." He turned to face her and she felt her heart flutter.

"I know," she finally admitted softly. "I miss you, and I still love you too, but…" she began, but pulled her hand away quickly and refocused her view on the wall before she could say something she'd regret later.

"But what, Casey?" George pressed on. "You don't have to be afraid, I'm right here."

She took a deep breath before speaking. "But… I'm afraid." She looked from George who was nodding in understanding, to Elliot, who was awkwardly staring at his feet.

"That's understandable, and even expected. You two need to communicate and decide how you want to pursue your relationship, whether it be a friendship or a romantic one," George advised.

Elliot finally looked up and turned once again to face her. "Casey, really, I love you so much, and I am so sorry for hurting you. I don't know what came over me, I really don't. Well, I do now, and I would take it back if I could. I'm going to be on medication now, and I'm going to keep going to anger management and a therapist. I just want you to take me back. I need to be with you, Casey, I love you."

She just stared at him, completely split on what to do. She absolutely did not want to be one of the many women that immediately returned to their abuser, but he was sick before, and now he was getting help.

"At the same time, though, while the decision is ultimately yours, I would highly recommend that you don't jump into anything too quickly. Couples therapy may always be a good idea as well, should you choose to be one, but once again that's up to you," George advised again. They both nodded in agreement, although in reality at least Casey just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

George seemed to sense their discomfort immediately. "All right. Elliot, I'll see you next week… Casey, can you stay for a second, please?"

Elliot stood up and said his goodbyes, then walked out of the office. Casey immediately relaxed once Elliot had left. She let out a deep breath, which she was sure didn't go unnoticed by the psychiatrist.

"How are you holding up?" he asked her.

Casey shrugged. "I'm okay, I guess. I'm just confused; I don't really know what to do."

George nodded. "I understand, Casey. I can only imagine how hard this must be on you. If you ever need to talk my door is always open, and nobody would have to know."

Casey nodded before thanking him and starting out the door.

"Hey Casey?" George called as soon as she reached the doorframe.

"Yeah?"

"Take this," he instructed her as he held out a card. "The first thing is a support group, which I think might be good for you if you're interested. There's also a number of another psychologist I highly recommend in case you don't feel talking to me, which is completely understandable."

She smiled gratefully as she walked back to take the card, then left.

---

"Hey Case," a voice interrupted her from the pile of paperwork on her desk. She glanced up to see Elliot standing in her doorway. She smiled as he walked in.

"Have you thought about all this stuff yet? I mean he said to communicate…" Elliot said awkwardly.

Casey nodded and laughed nervously, then stood up and walked over to where he was standing in the middle of her office.

"I still love you," he finally said, and she nodded in agreement. "I need you, Casey."

"I need you too, El."

He reached out to pull her into a hug, and she instinctively flinched away at his touch, though she had been trying her best not to do that. An awkward pause lingered as they just stood staring at each other.

"I hate how you do that," Elliot finally said in a controlled but annoyed voice, as a speck of anger flickered across his eyes. Casey nervously looked up at him.

"Elliot…" she began, but couldn't think of anything to really say.

"You flinch away every time I come near you," he finally said, the look of anger across his face rising.

"Elliot…" Casey repeated softly. She was telling herself over and over, _don't flinch, don't jump away_, but her body betrayed her as he came near her. A wave of anger washed over his face and her heart started beating rapidly.

"Casey, every goddamn time I come near you, you do that!" Elliot began before the distinct sound of a slap reverberated off the walls, causing an eerie silence to fill the room as Casey dropped to her knees in front of him and cradled her head in her hands, trying her hardest not to let her tear ducts betray her once again.

---

As Olivia was approaching Casey's office, she heard the all-too-familiar voice of her partner, and decided to wait. She was unsure about whether their reconciling was the best thing, but she did want things to at _least_ be smoothed out so that they wouldn't be so awkward.

"Elliot…" she heard Casey say meekly, sounding timid and unsure. It was a voice that she never heard before that night in the hospital, but it was the one that made her want to instantly run in there and grab the younger woman in her arms and act as a shield between her and the world.

She waited to hear how he would respond, but there was a stretched out silence before she heard his booming voice. "Casey, every goddamn time I come near you, you do that!" She was about to storm in there as soon as she heard him yelling, but she convinced herself to let them figure out heir problems on their own. That was, however, until she clearly heard the sound of him slapping her, then she sprinted into the office and launched herself at him.

"Get the hell away from her!" she yelled as she gripped his arm and pulled him away from Casey with more force than she even knew she had. He was standing, towering over Casey with a shocked look on his face, She was so angry she could practically feel her blood boiling.

"Liv, I didn't…" he began, only adding to her anger.

She forced herself to take a deep breath before she spoke. "I _heard_ you slap her, don't even tell me you didn't!"

She was never expecting the words that came from Casey's mouth, so soft she could barely hear them. "He didn't. I did." She stared back down into her lap and once again covered her face with her hands. Olivia glared at Elliot as she directed him out of the office and closed the door, telling him to wait outside while she talked to Casey.

---

Casey jumped up as she felt a hand gently being placed on her shoulder, biting her lip to keep from crying as Elliot's annoyance with her came back. She knew it was Olivia since she heard her making Elliot leave, but she wasn't ready to look up yet. Olivia started rubbing circles on her back, understandingly waiting for her to be ready to speak.

"Casey?" Olivia finally asked softly. Casey reluctantly forced herself to look up at Olivia; she was ashamed enough already. "What happened?"

"I thought… I thought he…" she began, but she could hardly force the words out. Olivia just continued staring at her, waiting for her to speak. "He was walking toward me; I thought he was going to hurt me," she finally admitted.

She heard Olivia sigh before she felt a hand rest on her back again. "You're still scared of him."

Casey finally nodded. "I don't want to be."

"It will just take time, sweetie, okay?" Olivia reminded her as she knelt down next to her.

Casey nodded as Olivia pulled her into another hug.

"I hate that he made me like this…" Casey said as an obvious blush crept up her face.

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked as she gently brushed stray hairs out of Casey's eyes. Casey shook her head away; although she was comforted by the gesture, she needed to talk and didn't want to be touched. Olivia looked hurt for a moment, but Casey hoped that she would just understand and let it go.

"I don't think I've ever hit anyone in my life. That's not the way I've ever solved my problems, then he did this…" she began, but quickly built her walls back up once tears appeared in her eyes.

"Casey, first of all, I can tell when you're starting to shut me out… give me some credit, I know you better than that. That's still not who you are though. You thought he was going to hurt you, that's the only reason you hit him. That's not the way you solve your problems, and he knows that. You wouldn't have done it if you didn't think he was about to hurt you. All this shows is that you're not quite ready to jump back into this, and that is absolutely fine, okay?" Olivia said.

Casey nodded solemnly. "I should talk to Elliot."

-----

Holy crap, longest chapter I've ever written in my life! Please review, this is so damn long. :p

Proofread. :)


	13. Chapter Thirteen

By the way, I don't know how the hell support groups work… that's not my kind of thing. So I don't know if this is accurate or not, but it is in my fictional world. :p

Guilty of not proofreading yet... again. :(

By the way, just curious for anyone else who writes: Do your number of hits get smaller and smaller every chapter you post, or is that just me? Wow, that would be embarrassing if that was just me now that I've said that, but that happens with all my stories. I hope it's not just because I suck:p

-----

Casey paused for a moment to take a deep breath and collect herself before she entered the brick building where the support group was taking place. She had not felt comfortable talking to Huang since he knew Elliot so well, but she thought she would at least give the support group a try.

"Are you going in?" she heard a timid voice ask from behind her. She turned around to face a woman maybe a couple of years older than her. It was dark out, but Casey could clearly make out the black eye. She nodded slowly before opening the door and holding it open for the other woman.

"I'm Kaylen." The brunette woman stuck out her hand to greet Casey as she flashed her a small smile. Casey smiled back and met her hand.

"Casey," she responded hesitantly.

"First time?" Kaylen asked. Casey nodded in response. She was nervous and part of her could hardly meet Kaylen's eyes, but at the same time there was something friendly and comforting about her. She smiled gratefully as Kaylen led her over to the circle and sat down next to her.

"Hi Kaylen," a woman from across the circle greeted her. Kaylen smiled and waved back.

"All right, shall we start?" the same woman asked, and was greeted with a series of nods. The woman went around and introduced themselves. Casey found herself following the circle intently. Some of the woman had visible injuries, but some of them she never would have guessed had been or was being abused. They all seemed so strong and secure.

"Casey," a voice finally called, bringing her back to attention. She looked up and realized that the group leader, Alexis, was staring at her.

"Yes?" she finally asked.

"Since it's your first time here is there anything you want to tell us?"

Casey froze at the question—of course she had gone for support, but she hadn't expected to actually open up the first time. She didn't know any of these women and she was never one to easily trust others.

"Casey? It's okay, nobody is going to force you to talk. If you want to we will all listen, but no one will make you."

Casey looked up slowly and locked eyes with Alexis. She took a deep breath before speaking, keeping her eyes focused only on her hands that were resting in her lap.

"I'm an ADA, and I've been working in the same unit with the same detectives for a few years now," she began cautiously. "One of the detectives and I started dating a little while ago. At first things were perfect… for a while, actually. He has always had a little bit of rage, but I knew that. He only used it on the perps—um, perpetrators—but he had never acted like that with me." She paused to take a deep breath as she felt tears start to well up in her eyes.

"We got in a fight at work, but it wasn't much worse than usual. I get into disagreements with the detectives often, but it's just related to the job, it wasn't personal. Then one night we were talking about it and he slapped me. I was in shock, but then he apologized. I know that abusers always do that, I really do, but I couldn't help it.

"Then another night he beat me up pretty bad and I passed out, but every time I would go back to him. I don't know why, but I couldn't help it. The next time he beat me I ended up in the hospital, and if my friend hadn't heard what was happening and stopped it I don't even know what would have happened." She fought the tears as hard as she could. She paused to take more deep breaths, and the room was silent while they waited for her to continue.

"I ended it after that, but he was just diagnosed as bipolar. He's on medication now and he hasn't hurt me since… I just worry… I took him back, but I don't know what to do." She wrapped her arms around herself and bent forward, hiding her head in her lap as she lost her battle to the tears. She felt a hand gently rub her back. She was absolutely humiliated, but at the same time she felt a huge burden being lifted off her shoulders.

"You don't have to be ashamed, Casey," Alexis assured her. "We all cry when we tell our stories." She tried to collect herself before sitting back up, but she kept her arms wrapped around herself as if she were trying to protect herself.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Alexis persisted.

Casey shrugged. "I honestly don't know. I still love him."

"My boyfriend is bipolar too," a young blonde woman said from the other side of the circle. "We've been trying to work it out. There are good days and bad days, but he stays on his medication and he goes to anger management. I'm not going to say that he hasn't hurt me since, but I know when he's in one of his moods and I know how to deal with him now."

Casey nodded. "I'm trying not to love him, but I just can't… I still do. Can we not talk about me anymore?" She was embarrassed at how small her voice sounded when she asked, but she couldn't stand talking about it anymore. Alexis nodded and moved on to someone else. Casey sat for the rest of the hour listening to all the other women talking about their abuse while she tried to figure out what to do with her own relationship.

She stood up abruptly when the meeting was over, determined to get out of there before anyone else saw her cry.

"Casey!" she heard someone call just as she reached the door. She cursed under her breath before turning around again, unconsciously wiping her eyes before looking up to see Kaylen.

"Take this, call me if you need anything," Kaylen told her with a smile as she handed her a business card. Casey smiled and handed her own card to Kaylen before returning to her car to drive home.

---

Casey groaned in frustration as she heard someone pounding on her door. She stopped to throw a sweatshirt on over her tank top before going to answer. As soon as she answered her bother stormed in past her. She rolled her eyes as she closed it behind him.

"Good morning to you too," she said sarcastically as he began pacing back and forth in her living room.

"Where were you yesterday afternoon Casey?" he finally asked, not stopping his pacing to even look up at her. She froze—she had been out to lunch with Elliot. She hadn't seen her brother and she had no idea how Mike would have known. He had made her promise him that she wouldn't take Elliot back, even after she told him about the illness.

"I was… I…" she started, trying to come up with any excuse. Lying was usually no problem for her, since she had to think quickly for her job, but she was at a loss for words.

"I saw you and him together! I was at the same restaurant as you, Casey. I _saw_ you kiss him! You swore you were not going to get back together with him!"

"I know…"

"He hurt you, Casey! He put you in the hospital! He could have _killed_ you!"

"Mike, please," she began as she took a step back. "I'm sorry, but he's on medication now. He hasn't hurt me."

"Not _yet_, Casey! He's an abuser; he's not just going to stop!"

"It's none of your business! I can handle it. Get out." She stomped over to her front door and pulled it open, gesturing toward it with her hand.

"Casey, I'm not dropping this. If you don't end this I'll do it, I swear I will," Mike insisted. "I refuse to let you stay with him."

"Get the hell out, it's none of your business," she seethed.

"It is my business if he's hurting you. If you can't take care of yourself then I'll do it." With that he stormed out of the room and Casey slammed it behind him, furious.

---

Michael Novak stomped all the way up to the Special Victims Unit, still bursting with anger from his conversation with Casey. He couldn't stand how naïve she was being, thinking that he would just stop hurting her. He wasn't going to sit back and let anyone hurt her, so if she wouldn't defend herself he would just have to do it for her.

"Can I help you?" someone asked him as he approached.

"I need to speak to Elliot Stabler." He continued on into the bullpen where four pairs of eyes were focused on him.

"We need to talk," he finally managed, pointing at Elliot.

"Let her fight her own battles," Elliot responded just as haughtily.

Mike was fuming at this point. "Do _not_ test me right now. We need to talk… _now_." Elliot reluctantly stood up and followed Mike, rolling his eyes at the other detectives who just shot him questioning glances.

Elliot crossed his arms as if he was trying to be intimidating, but Mike was so furious nothing could really intimidate him right then. "My relationship with your sister has nothing to do with you."

"You're talking about my sister; this has everything to do with me!" Mike practically yelled. "When I tell her boyfriends 'hurt her and I'll kill you,' I'm talking about breaking her heart. You're breaking so much more than her heart. I don't want you to see her, and I swear to god if you so much as lay a finger on her again I will kill you."

"You can't threaten me!" Elliot yelled, his voice rising.

"You just watch me. I swear, you hurt her again and I will kill you before you even knew what hit you," Mike yelled back even louder.

"Stop it!" he heard Olivia yell as she approached, louder than either of them. "Mike, this is not your battle to fight. Casey's not a little girl anymore, she can handle herself. I know you're just trying to protect her, but you can't forbid her to see her boyfriend."

Mike sighed as he considered her words. He knew that she was right, but he couldn't stand to watch her get hurt. They were talking about his baby sister, and whether or not it was his place he refused to sit back and let her boyfriend hurt her.

"Just remember what I said," Mike reminded him, threateningly but calmly, before turning around and leaving the detectives behind as he stormed out.

-----

I love reviews. :)


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Casey sighed, half in concern and half in frustration, when she walked into the precinct and saw that Elliot wasn't there even though the rest of the detectives were. Since the detectives almost always went out on calls together, if Elliot was the only detective not at the precinct or with her for court, he most likely wasn't at work… again.

She walked in and barely had to say a word before Olivia saw her and shook her head, telling Casey that Elliot had taken another sick day. It had been almost three weeks since Elliot and Casey had gotten back together, but things just seemed to be going downhill. He hadn't laid a hand on her, but that was probably because he really didn't talk to her. She hadn't seen him in two days, and whenever she did he was generally moping around. They were technically "back together," but she saw less of him than she did when they were broken up.

"Your loverboy's out again," Fin called to her as she approached them. Casey smirked back at him.

"I'm aware."

"Well maybe you should just be a detective then," Fin teased back. Casey rolled her eyes.

"That wasn't even good." She smiled as she walked over and leaned against Fin's desk.

"Shut up, Novak. What do you want?"

"I'm bored," she whined playfully. "Work is stupid."

Fin laughed and rolled his eyes. "Tell me about it. You should go see that boy of yours; he's a mess. He works less than John does." Casey laughed and just nodded in agreement, unsure of what else to say.

After a moment Fin's face suddenly turned serious as he leaned in closer to where she was sitting. "If he lays a finger on you, Casey…"

Casey smiled slightly and rested her hand on top of his. "I know, it will all be fine. I'm sure he won't."

"I know, but if he does you know we all have your back here." Fin gently squeezed her shoulder as he stood up and walked past her and toward the bathroom.

"Elliot?" Casey called nervously as she entered the apartment. It was so dark that she could barely see her hand directly in front of her face, and in all honesty it freaked her out. She turned back toward the door and patted the wall next to it, searching for a light switch.

"Damnit, El," she murmured under her breath as she continued searching. She finally found one and blinked, trying to adjust her eyes as the lights flickered on. Once her eyes were adjusted she took a moment to scan the room, her eyes falling on the mess that had once been an apartment. Casey surveyed the room and noticed the empty beer bottles and food containers scattered around the living room floor. There was a blanket thrown messily over the back of the couch, and there was a pile of pillows on the floor in front of it. It took all of Casey's strength not to grab a vacuum cleaner and trash can and begin tidying up the apartment right then and there, but of course that was not what she was there for.

"El? It's Casey, where are you?" She was met with no response, but she couldn't imagine where else Elliot would be. He had been taking sick days off often and seemed distant even when he was at work. For a while he had seemed as though he was better, but then he spiraled down into an even deeper hole than before. 

Casey finally heard the faint sound of rustling sheets and followed them into the bedroom, which she found to be as dark as the rest of the apartment had been. She was tempted to reach over and turn on the lights, but she knew that if Elliot was asleep on the bed it would not only freak him out, but it would make him angry as well. While he had not hit her once since they got back together she was still afraid that he might. She put her hands out in front of her and slowly, cautiously tried to make her way over to the bed. She knew where the bed was, but she had no idea where she was in relation to it. She walked over more bottles and bags just trying to get to the bed. If she could ever make it over to the bed she knew that there was a lamp on the nightstand that could be dimmed so that she could see where he was without turning on the overhead light.

"What are you doing?" she finally heard Elliot mumble from the bed. Her ears perked up at the sound.

"Keep talking," she ordered.

"What? Why?"

"Just do it!"

"Casey, what is going on? Why are you even here?" Casey followed the deep sound of his voice over to the bed and tentatively lowered herself down so that she was sitting on it. She reached over beside her and her hand made contact with something. She felt around trying to figure out where Elliot was.

"Why are you feeling my ass?" he murmured. Casey immediately drew her hand away and brought it back into her lap.

"Relax. I'm right here." He reached out and grabbed her hand, pulling on it so that it was resting in his hand next to his head.

"How did you know where I was?" she asked as she settled closer to him.

"I could just tell," he answered. She nodded slowly and cautiously allowed herself to relax, lying down next to Elliot.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked after a long period of irritating silence.

"Nothing is wrong."

Casey rolled her eyes and rolled over so that she was facing him, though it didn't make too much of a difference since she couldn't see him.

"Please, _please_ talk to me," she begged, moving closer to him. She couldn't help but flinch as she moved closer to him even though she was the one moving toward him, but if he even noticed he didn't seem to care.

"I can't."

Casey rolled her eyes again and sighed. "Aren't you on meds, Elliot?"

"Yes I am, Casey," he said almost sarcastically, mockingly. "They're not magic though, damnit. They make me feel like crap."

"Then why do you take them?" she asked quietly.

"I don't fucking know!" he yelled. She knew that he was not yelling at her, just at the situation in general, but the tone in his voice caused panic to arise within her. She quickly rolled away from him and jumped up, leaving him lying on the bed alone.

"Elliot," she said softly. "I can't do this. I don't know what to do for you. It's hurts me to see you hurting so badly because I love you, Elliot, I really do, but I don't know how to handle this. I'm sorry, El, but this isn't working. I do love you, but we just can't be together right now." She exhaled slowly before turning around and trudging toward the bedroom door, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Casey, please," she heard Elliot beg from the bed, but she didn't stop; she knew that if she did she would run right back into his arms, and at that moment in time he needed more help than she could give him.

All right, kind of short but I am STUCK! Is this done? Should I add more? What should happen? I'm really stuck so please review, or else I'm just kind of going to leave it because I have no idea…

By the way, thanks so much J0 for your suggestions, because this chapter probably would have been completely different and inaccurate if it weren't for your suggestions. :)


End file.
